Sergei Zubov
Sergei Alexandrovich Zubov (Russian: Сергей Александрович Зубов; born 22 July 1970) is a Russian professional ice hockey coach and former defenceman. He works as an assistant coach for the SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
| Sergei Zubov | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Zubov with the Dallas Stars in 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
22 July 1970 Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defence | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shot | Right | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Played for |
CSKA Moscow New York Rangers Pittsburgh Penguins Dallas Stars SKA Saint Petersburg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current KHL coach | SKA Saint Petersburg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team |
 Soviet Union, Unified Team and Russia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NHL Draft |
85th overall, 1990 New York Rangers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1988–2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 2011–present | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Zubov played for the Dallas Stars, New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League as well as SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL. One of the best offensive defensemen in NHL history, he won the Stanley Cup twice: with the Rangers in 1994 and the Stars in 1999. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2019.[1]
Playing career
CSKA Moscow, New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins
Zubov was drafted in the fifth round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers. Prior to this, he played for the Red Army's hockey team, HC CSKA Moscow, in Russia. He continued to play for the Red Army until 1992, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Although Sergei spent some of his rookie season with New York's AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Rangers, he played forty-nine games as a rookie for the Rangers, scoring 31 points, considered then to be above-average for a defenseman. Zubov's high-scoring ways continued, as he scored 12 goals and earned 77 assists during the 1993–94 season, which led the team in regular season scoring. He contributed 19 points to the Rangers' playoff campaign, as he, along with Alexander Karpovtsev, Sergei Nemchinov, and Alexei Kovalev became the first Russians to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup.[2]
Zubov continued to play well for the Rangers, but on 31 August 1995, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins with Petr Nedvěd for Ulf Samuelsson and Luc Robitaille. Zubov only spent one season in Pittsburgh, it was rumored because he and team captain Mario Lemieux didn't get along, especially on the powerplay where both men wanted to be in control.[3] Ultimately, he was traded to the Dallas Stars on 22 June 1996 for Kevin Hatcher.
Dallas Stars
Although Zubov never again reached the scoring height of his 1993–94 season with the Rangers, due to a combination of Dallas's more defensive system and decreased scoring in general, he has earned all three of his trips to the All-Star game with the Stars. He never again reached an 80+ point total, but had 11 consecutive years of 40+ point seasons and 30+ assists.
He was also excellent defensively and while he had a well-sized body, he was known more for his positioning and puck-dislodging abilities out of corners rather than his checking abilities. He had been a mainstay on the penalty killing squad for several years and had only recorded a negative plus/minus four times in his career, with two of them within his first three years in the league.
Zubov always played a solid game, but for years went under the radar and did not garner any nominations for the NHL awards or the NHL First/Second All-Star teams. However, in the 2005–06 season, Zubov posted 71 points for his highest outing in over a decade – and also received his first Norris Trophy nomination.
Zubov missed nearly half of the 2007–08 NHL season with a sports hernia injury and most of the 2008–09 NHL season with a hip injury.
SKA Saint Petersburg
On 30 July 2009, he decided to leave the NHL as he signed a contract with SKA Saint Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was also selected as a reserve by Team Russia for the 2010 Winter Olympics should an injury occur during the tournament.[4]
On 18 April 2011, it was reported that Zubov would officially retire due to hip-related injury problems.[5][6]
Coaching career
On 20 July 2015, Zubov was named to the coaching staff of the Russian national team as a defensive assistant.[7]
Zubov served as the head coach of HC Sochi starting from the 2017–18 season. He was dismissed as head coach 16 games into the 2019–20 season following a 5–11 start.[8]
He currently serves as Senior Consultant to Hockey Operations for the Dallas Stars.[9]
International play
Zubov represented the Soviet Union where he won the gold and silver medals in 1989 and 1990 in the Junior Division.
Zubov won a gold medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics, playing for the Unified Team.
Legacy
- In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, Zubov was ranked No. 72 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons[10]
- Zubov left the NHL as the league's all-time scoring leader for Russian-born defensemen. He is now 2nd behind Sergei Gonchar.
- On 28 January 2022, the Dallas Stars retired Zubov's number 56.
Personal life
Zubov and his wife, Irina, have two children.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1988–89 | CSKA Moscow | USSR | 29 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | CSKA Moscow | USSR | 48 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | CSKA Moscow | USSR | 41 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | CSKA Moscow | CIS | 36 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1992–93 | CSKA Moscow | IHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | New York Rangers | NHL | 49 | 8 | 23 | 31 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Binghamton Rangers | AHL | 30 | 7 | 29 | 36 | 14 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 | ||
| 1993–94 | New York Rangers | NHL | 78 | 12 | 77 | 89 | 39 | 22 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 0 | ||
| 1993–94 | Binghamton Rangers | AHL | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | New York Rangers | NHL | 38 | 10 | 26 | 36 | 18 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 2 | ||
| 1995–96 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 64 | 11 | 55 | 66 | 22 | 18 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 26 | ||
| 1996–97 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 78 | 13 | 30 | 43 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1997–98 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 73 | 10 | 47 | 57 | 16 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 1998–99 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 81 | 10 | 41 | 51 | 20 | 23 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 4 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 77 | 9 | 33 | 42 | 18 | 18 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 6 | ||
| 2000–01 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 79 | 10 | 41 | 51 | 24 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 2001–02 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 80 | 12 | 32 | 44 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 82 | 11 | 44 | 55 | 26 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 4 | ||
| 2003–04 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 77 | 7 | 35 | 42 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2005–06 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 78 | 13 | 58 | 71 | 46 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 2006–07 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 78 | 12 | 42 | 54 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2007–08 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 46 | 4 | 31 | 35 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 2008–09 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | SKA Saint Petersburg | KHL | 53 | 10 | 32 | 42 | 32 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 1,068 | 152 | 619 | 771 | 337 | 164 | 24 | 93 | 117 | 62 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| NHL | ||
| Hall of Fame | Class of 2019[11] | |
| Stanley Cup champion | 1994 (NY Rangers), 1999 (Dallas) | |
| All-Star Game | 1998, 1999, 2000, 2008 (did not play) | |
| Second NHL All-Star team | 2006 | |
| KHL | ||
| All-Star Game | 2010 | |
NHL
- Points by a Russian-born defenseman, single season, 89 (1993–94)
Dallas Stars
- Points by a defenseman, regular season (553)
- Points by a defenseman, playoff (72)
References
- "Hayley Wickenheiser headlines 2019 Hockey Hall of Fame class - Sportsnet.ca".
- Kalinsky, George (2004). Garden of Dreams. New York: Stewart, Tabori, & Chang. ISBN 1-58479-343-0.
- "Sergei Zubov". New York Rangers Legends. 2009.
- "Kovalev, Frolov, Zubov and Kulemin added to Olympics squad - Russia at Olympics in Vancouver news, interviews, quotes, videos". Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
- Brad Gardner (18 April 2011). "Report: Former Dallas Star Sergei Zubov Retires". Defending Big D.
- "Сергей Зубов завершает карьеру". sport-express.ru.
- "Sergei Zubov named assistant coach of Russian national team". NHL.com.
- @khl_eng (13 October 2019). "HC Sochi and head coach Sergei Zubov have parted ways. With Zubov team had 2 #GagarinCup Playoffs appearances in 2…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "Front Office | Team".
- Cohen, Russ; Halligan, John; Raider, Adam (2009). 100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes and Colorful Characters. John Wiley & Sons. p. 68. ISBN 978-0470736197. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- "Hockey Hall of Fame - 2019 Induction Celebration - Sergei Zubov". www.hhof.com. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
External links
Media related to Sergei Zubov at Wikimedia Commons
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database