It's been 18 years since the New York Rangers effectively ended Darius Kasparaitis' NHL career by waiving the hard-hitting defenseman and sending him to Hartford of the American Hockey League in January of 2007.
But instead of being bitter about how things went down, Kasparaitis recited a funny anecdote when discussing the demotion on a recent episode of the Cam and Strick podcast .
"They sent me down and I felt very low. I was in the city, woke up like 4 am, looked out at the city and was thinking 'Oh My God, my career is over,'" Kasparaitis recalled. "I was like [34] years old and I drove my Bentley to Hartford. All these kids are like 'Man, what is this guy doing here, driving a Bentley, smoking a cigarette?!'"
That visual is classic Kasparaitis. He's a unique character, with an oversized personality. Though he was one of the fiercest competitors on the ice, and one of the dirtiest players of his era, Kasparaitis was equally known for his ever-present smile and quick wit.
And, yes, even he had to laugh all these years later about how absurd it must've looked when he arrived for his minor-league stint in a Bentley of all cars. Can you just picture the look on the faces of youngsters like Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky at the time?!
All humor aside, it was a difficult time for Kasparaitis, who had never played in the minor leagues since arriving from Lithuania in the fall of 1992 to play for the Islanders .
"It was one of the lowest points in my hockey career," he explained. "I played the game on a certain level, and getting sent down — not because I was playing bad, I was probably not in the best shape because I was coming back from injury and Rangers had no patience, and also the Rangers had Dan Girardi playing so good in the minors, they tried to make a space for him."
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All of what Kasparaitis said is true. He had two surgeries in the offseason prior to the 2006-07 season and was, admittedly, out of shape. Coach Tom Renney stripped him off his alternate captain's "A" and handed the role to Brendan Shanahan. But, yet, the veteran defenseman was playing competently on the Rangers back end.
He didn't quite realize it at the time, Kasparaitis admitted in the interview, but he was also becoming addicted to pain killers following the surgeries.
As he said, the Rangers — specifically Renney — lost "patience" with him. Kasparaitis was unclaimed on waivers and took his expensive ride to Hartford.
Of course, that he could afford that Bentley is one of the reasons Kasparaitis feels no bitterness toward the Rangers.
"Listen, there's no hard feelings. I think the Rangers gave me a good contract that last me a long time. They paid for my talent, big bucks," Kasparaitis explained. "As a free agent, I was hoping for $2 million a year. And when my agent said I was being offered $4.2 (million) a year, I said 'This is too much money. I don't deserve this money.' I told him that and he said 'Don't tell anybody that you think that way.' "
He signed a six-year, $25.5 million contract with the Rangers on July 2, 2002. Kasparaitis explained on the podcast that he received a recruiting call from Eric Lindros, who wanted him on the Rangers despite being concussed by a Kasparaitis hit earlier in his career.
It was a no-brainer decision for Kasparaitis, who was also happy to remain in the division after starring for the Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins .
He played 215 games with the Rangers, including the final 24 of his NHL career in 2006-07. All told, Kasparaitis totaled 1,379 penalty minutes and 163 points in 863 regular-season NHL games. He also played 83 Stanley Cup Playoff games, and helped the Islanders reach the Eastern Conference Final in 1993 and the Colorado Avalanche advance to the Western Conference Final in 2002.
And by the sounds of it, he had zero regrets about signing with the Rangers nor how his NHL career ended with them.
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