Growing up in Copaigue, New York, a neighborhood friend was into the Islanders and loved Darius Kasparaitis. And, because he was a little older than me, I thought that was really cool, so of course I started to love “Kaspar,” too. Over the years, we’ve kept in touch and we always have a laugh about our favorite player when something pops up. I just hope one day he sells me his mid-90s fisherman jersey with Kasparaitis cascading across the shoulders. What a beautiful sight…
Anyway, why am I telling this story? The other day was the anniversary of Kaspar’s overtime game seven winner against the Buffalo Sabres in the 2001 Stanley Cup Playoffs as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. As I shared the link on Twitter with my childhood friend, I thought about putting together a top-five (video recorded) hits of Darius Kasparaitis as an Islander. Going through the videos put a huge smile on my face; an underdog player who wasn’t afraid of anyone – big, small, “grocery stick,” or the other team’s best and that helped solidify him as one of my favorite players growing up. The New York Islanders 1st round, 5th overall pick in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft was a fan favorite in every city he played in, and many hockey fans who grew up during the 1990s will remember him for his huge hits.
Here are some of my favorite and, perhaps, his most memorable:
Number 5) A heavy open ice hit on future Islanders captain Trevor Linden.
Number 4) Jaromir Jagr has always been hard to knock off the puck, but even he is no match for Kasaparaitis.
Number 3) Mark Messier is one of the toughest players to ever play in the National Hockey League and, in my opinion, the closest thing to Gordie Howe most of us will see in our lifetimes. Kasparaitis, known for his hip checks, lets us all know he won’t back down from anyone. This is truly old school toughness at its best.
Number 2) Kaspar gives Mario Lemieux the business, which would ultimately lead to a funny moment between the players in the late 1990s when Kaspar was traded to the Penguins. In an interview with Pensburgh about his 2011 Hall of Fame induction, Kasparaitis talked about the moment he and Mario first met as teammates:
“…on my first day in Pittsburgh, I was very afraid and didn’t know what to expect given my history with the Penguins. I remember going into the locker room on the first day and Lemieux came over and shook my hand and joked around saying that now we’re going to have to wear shoulder pads during practices because of who I was and my reputation.”
Number 1) Even the Great One, Wayne Gretzky, was not immune to Kasparaitis. In an interview with Stan Fishler in between periods, Kaspar explains how hard it is to hit Gretzky, then a member of the Los Angeles Kings. The next clip, “The Ghost” gets the Great One along the boards and then makes L.A. pay on the scoreboard.
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