The Dallas Stars have officially hired franchise icon Sergei Zubov, today naming him Senior Consultant to the General Manager. Zubov was fired from his job as a head coach in the KHL earlier this season. GM Jim Nill will oversee Zubov in the Stars organization, and explained why he brought in the Stanley Cup-winning defenseman:
We are thrilled to bring Sergei back into the Stars family. 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.
Zubov, 49, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this season after an incredible career that saw him win at basically every level. A member of the outstanding 1989 Soviet Union World Junior team that also included Pavel Bure, Alexander Mogilny and Sergei Fedorov, Zubov would win a gold medal at the Olympics just a few years later as part of the 1992 Unified Team. A Stanley Cup would follow in 1994 with the New York Rangers, before another in 1999 with the Stars.
While he was already a star with New York (and Pittsburgh, where he spent one year with the Penguins) in the early part of his career, it’s Dallas where Zubov spent most of his career. Suiting up for 839 regular season contests with the Stars, he anchored a defense corps for more than a decade, logging ridiculous ice time totals and points.
Amazingly never winning a Norris Trophy, Zubov ranks 20th all-time in points among NHL defensemen with this 771. The silky smooth playmaker will now try to help the Stars get back to the promised land by assisting Nill in the front office.