Sergei Zubov

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Zubov's time with the Dallas Stars began on 22 June 1996, when he was traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Kevin Hatcher. Although he never again reached the scoring height of his 1993–94 season with the Rangers, he earned all three of his trips to the All-Star game with the Stars. He had 11 consecutive years of 40+ point seasons and 30+ assists. 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. On 30 July 2009, he left the NHL to sign a contract with SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL. On 18 April 2011, it was reported that Zubov would officially retire due to hip-related injury problems.

In Their Own Story

Zubov's NHL career started when he was drafted in the fifth round of the 1990 NHL entry draft by the New York Rangers. He played for the Red Army's hockey team, HC CSKA Moscow, until 1992. During his rookie season, he played forty-nine games for the Rangers, scoring 31 points. In the 1993–94 season, he scored 12 goals and earned 77 assists, which led the team in regular season scoring. He contributed 19 points to the Rangers' playoff campaign, and along with Alexander Karpovtsev, Sergei Nemchinov, and Alexei Kovalev, became the first Russians to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup. On 31 August 1995, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins with Petr Nedvěd for Ulf Samuelsson and Luc Robitaille. He 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.

Reader's Guide

Sergei Zubov represented the Soviet Union where he won the gold and silver medals in 1989 and 1990 in the Junior Division. He won a gold medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics, playing for the Unified Team. After his playing career, on 20 July 2015, Zubov was named to the coaching staff of the Russian national team as a defensive assistant. He 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. 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. Zubov left the NHL as the league's all-time scoring leader for Russian-born defensemen. He is now second behind Sergei Gonchar.

Did You Know?

• Zubov was drafted in the fifth round of the 1990 NHL entry draft by the New York Rangers.
• He led the Rangers in regular season scoring during the 1993–94 season with 12 goals and 77 assists.
• Along with Alexander Karpovtsev, Sergei Nemchinov, and Alexei Kovalev, he became one of the first Russians to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup.
• Zubov left the NHL as the league's all-time scoring leader for Russian-born defensemen, now second behind Sergei Gonchar.
• The Dallas Stars retired Zubov's number 56 on 28 January 2022.