It’s official. Dallas Stars legend Sergei Zubov is finally a Hall of Fame inductee.
Congratulations on your induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame! #HHOF2019 pic.twitter.com/sRKJzv1IRP
— Hockey Hall of Fame (@HockeyHallFame) June 25, 2019
Zubov was announced today as one of four members of the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2019, along with Hayley Wickenheiser, Václav Nedomanský, and fellow 1999 Stanley Cup champion Guy Carbonneau.
Eligible since 2013, Zubov has had to wait several years before getting voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. We here at Defending Big D have made the case for Zubov several times before (and I mean several), and the Russian defenseman’s support has picked up steam over the years. Here’s a short list of his accomplishments over his career that spanned 16 years:
- Two-time Stanley Cup Champion (1994 — New York Rangers, 1999 — Dallas Stars)
- Olympic Gold Medal Winner (1992 — Unified Team)
- Four All-Star Game appearances (1998, 1999, 2000, and 2008)
- 2nd Team NHL All-Star (2006)
- Norris Trophy Finalist (2006)
- 771 points in 1068 NHL games (152 goals, 619 assists)/
The lack of individual awards no doubt hurt Zubov’s case, although he did receive votes in 12 of his 16 NHL seasons. Of course, that’s in large part due to playing in the same era as Nicklas Lidstrom, Scott Niedermayer, and Chris Pronger among others. Lindstrom himself accounted for seven Norris Trophies over the course of Zubov’s career.
The point is that Zubov was one of the best defensemen of his time, even if he tended to get overshadowed by some other big names. The fact that he wasn’t in the Hall of Fame already was a travesty, one that all Dallas Stars fans should be happy to see remedied.