Darius Kasparaitis Darius Kasparaitis ( Russian : Дарюс Каспарайтис ; born October 16 , 1972 ) is a retired professional ice hockey defenseman . Known by the nickname " Kaspar " , he has dual citizenship in both the United States and Russia , and he has played for the Russian national ice hockey team . Playing career . Kasparaitis left Lithuania for Russia at age 14 after training with Aleksey Nikiforov to play ice hockey at a higher level . Kasparaitis played his first game for Dynamo Moscow , one of the premier teams in the Soviet Union , at the age of 16 during the 1988 – 89 season , and won the Soviet League championship with them in 1992 . He was drafted by the New York Islanders with the fifth overall pick in the first round of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft . Kasparaitis has played for the New York Islanders , Pittsburgh Penguins , Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers . Kasparaitis is known for his aggressive physical playing style and has led his teams in hits several times , including his rookie season , in 1992 – 93 NHL season with the New York Islanders . Kasparaitis ' made a hard hit on Eric Lindros in 1998 that knocked Lindros out of action for 18 games , and he scored a game seven overtime goal vs . Buffalo in 2001 . He was traded to the Colorado Avalanche at the trade deadline in 2002 , where he spent the remainder of the 2001 – 02 NHL season . Kasparaitis eventually wound up with the New York Rangers . During the 2005 – 06 season , he served as an alternate captain of the Rangers , along with Jaromír Jágr and Steve Rucchin , as the Rangers had no captain . Because the Lithuanian ice hockey team was relatively weak and hadn ' t ever played in major competitions , Kasparaitis chose to represent Russia in official events . In December 2005 , Kasparaitis was chosen to represent Russia in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin , Italy . At the start of the 2006 – 07 season , Kasparaitis was replaced as an alternate captain with the Rangers by newly acquired Brendan Shanahan . He was waived by the New York Rangers on January 24 , 2007 and subsequently demoted to the Rangers ' affiliate in Hartford . Kasparaitis was once again waived by the Rangers prior to the 2007 – 08 season . On November 3 , 2007 , the Rangers announced that Kasparaitis had been loaned to SKA St . Petersburg of the then - Russian Superleague ( RSL ) , now the KHL . The deal was made possible due to a lack of a transfer agreement between Russia and North America at the time . However , the Rangers retained his NHL rights . Even though Kasparaitis had departed the league after the 2007 season he left an impression with Ranger fans with the team salute that he created . After every Rangers home win , Kasparaitis would direct the players to center ice and have the whole team follow in saluting the fans by raising their sticks in the air before departing the ice . The tradition is still carried on by the Rangers for every home win . Kasparaitis continued to play for SKA Saint Petersburg in the 2008 – 09 season . He played in 26 games . In the 2009 – 10 season , he did not play due to an injury . On April 18 , 2010 , he officially retired . Coaching staff career . On June 19 , 2010 , Kasparaitis signed as the assistant coach for SKA Saint Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League ( KHL ) . The contract expired on December 22 , 2010 . Family . Kasparaitis is now a naturalized American citizen . He and his first wife Irina ( born 1965 in Russia ) have a daughter named Elizabeth who was born in March 19 , 1997 . After they divorced , Kasparaitis got engaged to a Swedish real estate agent named Ingela , they broke up after 3 years . Currently , he and his fiance Lisa Carrol have twin daughters , Liv and Lilly , born in Sweden , September 3 , 2008 . Darius and Lisa were engaged the summer of 2009 . Their newest addition and Kasparaitis ' first son , Marley , was born August 19 , 2010 in St . Petersburg , Russia . They now share their time between New York , Miami , Stockholm and St . Petersburg . International play . Played for the Soviet Union in : Played for CIS / Unified Team in : Played for Russia in :