Disclaimer: This piece was planned for later in the Penguins-Islanders series, but as “later” suddenly is a concept in question, here we go. It’s not like you need 800 words on potential strategic adjustments, either. The Penguins, as always, will go where their stars take them. Period. So consider this a public service. It might even cheer you up. Also know that Darius Kasparaitis, at 46, still plays hockey — and might represent an upgrade on the Penguins’ blue line given the way the first two games went.
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“I’m still crazy,” Darius Kasparaitis says, to the suggestion he was a wild man 26 years ago, torturing Mario Lemieux in one of the greatest upsets in playoff history. “I guess it’s just my personality.”
I guess. And you know what? Kaspar sounds just as friendly and lively as he did during his memorable Penguins career, which followed his memorable New York Islanders career. He laughs a lot. He busts chops all over the place. He represents a time when NHL locker rooms were joyous places, players freely expressing themselves in an unfettered environment.
But that was decades ago. Time moves fast — almost as fast as Kasparaitis’ mind. He still says whatever pops into it first.
What was it like to pull a Lemieux and come out of a nine-year retirement to play for his native Lithuania in last year’s World Championships (a long-time dream)?
“I still had passion, but at that level it just wasn’t where it needed to be,” Kasparaitis says. “I didn’t feel like I was pissed off enough. I didn’t want to hurt someone. I just wanted to go home and be with my kids.”
Does he still talk to old buddy Jaromir Jagr? They played together on the Penguins and New York Rangers.
“I texted him a few times when he was with the Panthers; I guess he was too busy or too cool to text me back (laughs). I’m happy he still enjoys the game. I was with him longer than anyone. … He was lucky to have me.”
State of the NHL?
“If I played a game right now, I’d hit the same way. Well, maybe less nasty. I watch games, see a lot of guys with their head down and say, ‘Wow, I can’t believe he didn’t get hit.’ They’ve been taught different hockey. They always told me, ‘If a guy has his head down, hit him.’ I was playing (a charity game) in Johnstown a couple of months ago. First shift, kid skating against me, I hit him so nice. Epic hip check. … If you need a defenseman, I can still play.’ ”
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Seems to me the only other Islander-turned-Penguin of great distinction was Bryan Trottier (Ziggy Palffy doesn’t count). And if Trottier arrived here as a man most admired, Kasparaitis arrived as a man Most Wanted. Penguins fans despised the long-haired Lithuanian for the way he went after Lemieux in the 1993 upset, the one that derailed a potential dynasty.
You can find the highlights on a YouTube clip titled, “Darius Kasparaitis Owns Mario Lemieux.” Kasparaitis was a 20-year-old rookie. In the clip, Lemieux checks him from behind, and Kasparaitis responds with a series of shots that helped earn him the nickname, “The Shift Disturber.”
“I’ve seen it,” Kasparaitis says. “I look like an idiot. You don’t really think about how it will look in 30 years. I was playing with passion. Mario checked me in the back, and I thought, ‘How can you do that to a player like me (laughs)?’ I was playing with emotion, and I didn’t really care who was there.”
Four years later, then-Islanders GM Mike Milbury enraged his fan base by dealing Kasparaitis to the Penguins for Bryan Smolinski. Little did Kasparaitis know that within three years, a new YouTube clip could have come out titled “Mario Lemieux Owns Darius Kasparaitis” and it would have literally been true: Lemieux owned the team when he ended his retirement in 2000.
Kasparaitis says that while some Penguins players made it clear they had previously loathed him — “Kevin Stevens said, ‘I (expletive) hated you,’ ”— Lemieux never said a word about their past.
“Mario, I guess he made me pay the price by beating me in poker on the plane rides,” Kasparaitis says. “He always beat me. Every time.”
Kasparaitis will forever be remembered for two plays here — his hit on Eric Lindros and his series-winning goal against Dominik Hasek.
The first play, sickening as it was to see Lindros crawling along the ice looking for his senses, turned Kasparaitis from villain to hero among Penguins fans.
“That was an unfortunate event,” Kasparaitis says. “Looking back, I feel a little sad seeing him struggle.”
Turned out there were no hard feelings there, either. When Kasparaitis became a free agent years later, Lindros helped recruit him to the Rangers, calling him at midnight on July 1 to make a pitch.
“Me, him and (Matthew) Barnaby hung out a lot,” Kasparaitis says. “He’s a really classy guy. Serious and rough as a player, but when you get to know him, he’s just goofy and happy.”
The other play that lives forever is the Game 7 overtime goal against Hasek.
“Kaspar shot a muffin at him,” teammate Ian Moran recalls, “and Hasek missed it.”
The night before, Kasparaitis and roommate Rene Corbet were watching two other Game 7s when Corbet threw out a question: “What would it be like to win a Game 7 in overtime?”
“First of all,” Kasparaitis replied, “we would never score.”
Next time you find yourself in a bad mood, search the clip of Kaspar's belly flop celebration. When he awoke the next morning, he found piles of candy and flowers at his house near the Penguins’ Southpointe practice facility, courtesy of ecstatic fans. People stopped him at the gas station for hugs.
“Everybody was just like in love with me at that time,” he says.
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Moran started playing against Kasparaitis in international tournaments at age 16. They would later partner on defense for the Penguins. They were on the ice for Mario’s goal in his comeback game and for Kaspar’s Game 7 goal.
When I suggested to Moran that I remember Kasparaitis as something of a wild man with big appetites and a big heart underneath, he agreed.
“By the time he came to Pittsburgh, he had gotten his life together,” Moran says. “Teammate-wise, he was awesome. Full of heart. He definitely played on the edge, which was why people absolutely hated him. He loved the battle.”
He still does. Kasparaitis regularly plays pickup hockey. He says he is a vegan and has dropped 40 pounds. He looked incredibly fit during the 2017 World Championships.
“There are things I’ve struggled with — weight, eating, addiction,” he says. “But I’m in a good place right now. I have a family that loves me. I have a great job (partner in a real-estate development company in South Florida). I’d love to get back into hockey one day, maybe as a scout.”
In the meantime, he is largely a stay-at-home dad in charge of what amounts to a full team at even-strength: five kids in the house, ranging from 1 to 10 (he has 10-year-old twin daughters). He also has a 22-year-old daughter from a previous marriage.
“I met this beautiful lady from Sweden in 2007, and we had five kids,” Kasparaitis says. “I love it. I wake up every morning, make breakfast, take them to school. Pick them up. It's a blessing. What else could I want?”
Speaking of which, I was curious: Who does he want to win this series?
“I picked Pittsburgh, but I don’t really root for anyone until one of my teams goes deep,” he says. “It’s hard to pick sides. I think eventually the Islanders will win again. I don’t think they’ve been past the second round since I was there.”
That’s true. The year was 1993 — and Darius Kasparaitis was 20 years old.
Man, time moves fast.
First Published: April 13, 2019, 4:52 p.m.
