Zubov has a connection with another Hockey Hall of Famer. He was selected by the New York Rangers in the fifth round (No. 85) of the 1990 NHL Draft, a pick the Rangers obtained as compensation when Guy Lafleur signed with the Quebec Nordiques as a free agent on July 14, 1989.

The Rangers selected Zubov, a Moscow native, after his second season with CSKA Moscow. He played two more full seasons in Russia before coming to North America in the fall of 1992. Zubov played 30 games with Binghamton of the American Hockey League before joining the Rangers to stay and finishing his NHL rookie season with 31 points (eight goals, 23 assists) in 49 games.

Zubov had a breakout season in 1993-94, leading New York in scoring with 89 points (12 goals, 77 assists) in 78 regular-season games and contributing 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in 22 Stanley Cup Playoff games to help the Rangers win their first championship since 1940. He and teammates Alexander Karpovtsev, Alexei Kovalev and Sergei Nemchinov became the first players born in Russia to have their names engraved on the Cup.

However, New York already had a future Hall of Fame defenseman in Brian Leetch; the Rangers wanted a more physical presence on defense and more scoring depth, so they made Zubov part of a four-player trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Aug. 31, 1995, that brought another future Hall of Famer, left wing Luc Robitaille, to New York.

Zubov lasted one season with the Penguins before he was traded again, this time to the Dallas Stars on June 22, 1996.

Though he never came close to the numbers he put up with the Rangers in his second NHL season, Zubov became one of the League's most reliable offensive defensemen. He finished with at least 42 points in each of his first 10 seasons with the Stars and was especially proficient on the power play: From 1993-94 through 2006-07, Zubov was fifth in the NHL with 377 power-play points, (76 goals, 301 assists), behind Jaromir Jagr (453 points), Joe Sakic (428), Nicklas Lidstrom (396) and Teemu Selanne (395). Zubov's 301 power-play assists were third in the NHL during that span behind Doug Weight's 305 and Lidstrom's 303.

"He never had to look down and see where the puck was before he made a pass," Dallas teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Mike Modano said.

Zubov had 13 points (one goal, 12 assists) and averaged 30:16 of ice time in 23 playoff games when the Stars won the Cup in 1999. In 2005-06, he had his best offensive season since 1993-94 when he finished with 71 points (13 goals, 58 assists) in 78 games and was named an NHL Second-Team All-Star at age 35.

Injuries began to catch up with Zubov in 2007-08, when he missed nearly half the season with a sports hernia. He was limited to 10 games in 2008-09 with a hip injury and concluded his NHL career with 771 points (152 goals, 619 assists) in 1,068 games, as well as 117 points (24 goals, 93 assists) in 164 playoff games. He is second to Sergei Gonchar (811) in points and first in assists among NHL defensemen born in Russia.

Zubov was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• EJC-A All-Star Team (1988)
• Named Best Defenseman at EJC-A (1988)
• NHL Second All-Star Team (2006)
• Played in NHL All-Star Game (1998, 1999, 2000)
• Traded to Pittsburgh by NY Rangers with Petr Nedved for Luc Robitaille and Ulf Samuelsson, August 31, 1995.
• Traded to Dallas by Pittsburgh for Kevin Hatcher, June 22, 1996.
• Signed as a free agent by St. Petersburg (KHL), July 30, 2009.