The Dallas Stars have yet another holiday gift for you, and this one isn’t about the Winter Classic. All-time great Sergei Zubov is back in the organization, this time as senior consultant to hockey operations.
The 2019 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee will report directly to GM Jim Nill and will advise on every aspect of the hockey club’s on-ice product – including the Dallas Stars, the Texas Stars, and the team’s amateur prospects.
Zubov is still (correctly) regarded as the greatest defenseman in franchise history and has also built a reputation as a coach in the KHL and for the Russian National Team. Longtime fans will undoubtedly look forward to seeing how he adapts to this new role with the Stars, where he firmly established himself as one of the game’s great thinkers.
“We are thrilled to bring Sergei back into the Stars family,” Nill said in a Stars press release. “He has been a big part of building hockey here in Dallas as a player, and we are excited for him to continue adding to that legacy in this management role. He has a brilliant hockey mind and his presence in the organization will benefit us all.”
FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill announced today that the club has named Sergei Zubov as the team’s Senior Consultant to Hockey Operations.
In this role, that is effective immediately, he will report directly to the general manager and consult the club’s hockey operations department in all matters regarding the Dallas Stars, the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League, as well as the team’s amateur prospects.
Zubov spent parts of eight seasons in various coaching capacities in the KHL. He most recently served as the head coach for Sochi, where they reached the playoffs in his two full seasons at the helm. Additionally, he helped the Russian National Team as a defensive assistant in 2015.
”We are thrilled to bring Sergei back into the Stars family,” said Nill. “He has been a big part of building hockey here in Dallas as a player, and we are excited for him to continue adding to that legacy in this management role. He has a brilliant hockey mind and his presence in the organization will benefit us all.”
Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November 2019, he recorded 771 points (152-619=771) in 1,068 regular-season contests over 16 NHL seasons for the Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers. His 771 points are the second-most ever recorded by a Russian-born defenseman and the 20th-most by a blueliner in NHL history. Zubov spent 12 of his 16 NHL seasons as a member of the Stars, registering 549 points (111-438=549) in 839 regular-season contests. Among franchise leaders (1967-present), the blueliner ranks third in assists (438), fourth in plus/minus rating (+103) and games played (839) and seventh in points (549). Zubov is the franchise leader among defensemen in numerous statistical categories including points (549), goals (111), assists (438), games played (839), power play goals (60), plus/minus (+103) and shots on goal (1,694). Announced on Nov. 11, 2019, he will become the sixth player in franchise history to have his number retired, as his number 56 will join Neal Broten (7), Bill Goldsworthy (8), Mike Modano (9), Bill Masterton (19) and Jere Lehtinen (26) in the rafters of American Airlines Center.
The native of Moscow, Russia qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 13 of 16 NHL campaigns and registered 117 points (24-93=117) in 164 career postseason contests. Zubov won the Stanley Cup in 1994 with the New York Rangers, finishing the 1994 postseason tied for seventh in the NHL and ranking second among League defensemen with 19 points (5-14=19) in 22 contests. With Dallas, he tallied 72 points (15-57=72) in 114 Stanley Cup Playoff games and helped the club win the Stanley Cup in 1999 and return to the Stanley Cup Final in 2000. Among franchise leaders in the postseason, he ranks first in plus/minus (+18), second in assists (57), third in games played (114), fifth in points (72) and is tied for seventh in power-play goals (9).
Over his career, Zubov made three appearances in the NHL All-Star Game (1998, 1999, 2000) and was selected to the 2005-06 NHL Second All-Star Team. He played on the international stage on numerous occasions, including winning a gold medal as a member of the Unified Team at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.
The 6-foot-1, 198-pound defenseman was originally selected by the New York Rangers in the fifth round (85th overall) of the 1990 NHL Draft. He was acquired by Dallas via trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenseman Kevin Hatcher on June 22, 1996.