Alexei Vasilievich Gusarov (russian: Алексей Васильевич Гусаров) (born July 8, 1964) is a Russian former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

defenceman. He played for the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (N ...

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

and

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

Playing career

Born in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

(now St. Petersburg), Gusarov was a veteran of the Soviet national team before playing in the NHL. He won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

with the

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

. He is a member of the

Triple Gold Club The Triple Gold Club is the group of ice hockey players and coaches who have won an Olympic Games gold medal, a World Championship gold medal, and the Stanley Cup, the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL). The International Ice ...

, having won the 1989 IIHF World Championship, the

, and the Olympic gold medal in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

. Standing 6'2" and weighing in at 183 lb (83 kg), Gusarov was selected 213th overall by

in the

1988 NHL Entry Draft The 1988 NHL Entry Draft was the 26th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Teemu Selanne, who retired after the 2013–14 season. Selections by round Below ...

. Gusarov is considered to be one of the finest Russian defensemen to play in the NHL.

Retirement

After his playing career ended Gusarov retired to Colorado where he started coaching the AAA hockey club Evolution. He returned to Russia 2011, first serving as an assistant general manager for

SKA Saint Petersburg The Hockey Club SKA (russian: Спортивный клуб СКА), often referred to as SKA Saint Petersburg and literally as the Sports Club of the Army, is a Russian professional ice hockey club based in Saint Petersburg. They are members o ...

before moving to

HC Sochi Hockey Club Sochi (russian: Хоккейный клуб Сочи) is a professional ice hockey team based in Sochi, Russia. The team joined the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in 2014–15 season. History On May 23, 2014, it was reported that ...

of the KHL as an assistant coach from 2014 to 2017. Gusarov returned to Colorado, and accepting a role to begin scouting for the Avalanche from the 2018–19 season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

Transactions

*June 21, 1995 – Rights transferred from the

to the Colorado Avalanche after Quebec's relocation *December 28, 2000 – Traded by the Colorado Avalanche to the

in exchange for the Ranger 5th round draft choice in the

2001 NHL Entry Draft __NOTOC__ The 2001 NHL Entry Draft was the 39th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 23 and 24, 2001 at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Florida. As of 2022, the only remaining active players in the NHL from the 2001 draft class are ...

( Frantisek Skladany) *March 5, 2001 – Traded by the New York Rangers to the

in exchange for

Peter Smrek Peter Smrek (born 16 February 1979) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 28 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) between the St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers. Playing career Amateur Smrek played for the ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gusarov, Alexei 1964 births Living people Colorado Avalanche players Colorado Avalanche scouts Halifax Citadels players HC CSKA Moscow players Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Ice hockey players at the 1988 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics New York Rangers players Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic ice hockey players of Russia Olympic ice hockey players of the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in ice hockey Olympic silver medalists for Russia Quebec Nordiques draft picks Quebec Nordiques players Russian ice hockey defencemen St. Louis Blues players SKA Saint Petersburg players Soviet expatriate ice hockey players Soviet expatriates in Canada Soviet ice hockey defencemen Ice hockey people from Saint Petersburg Stanley Cup champions Triple Gold Club