Craig Allen Darby (born September 26, 1972) is an American former professional ice hockey center who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils.

Craig Darby
Darby in 2002
Born (1972-09-26) September 26, 1972 (age 52)
Oneida, New York, U.S.
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Center
Shot Right
Played for Montreal Canadiens
New York Islanders
Philadelphia Flyers
New Jersey Devils
National team  United States
NHL draft 43rd overall, 1991
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 1993–2008

Playing career

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Darby was drafted in the second round (43rd overall) of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. Darby entered into the NHL in 1994, following a successful time playing with Providence College in the NCAA and a season with the Fredericton Canadiens of the AHL, playing 10 games and registering two assists. That same season Darby was traded to the New York Islanders in a package along with Kirk Muller and Mathieu Schneider in exchange for Pierre Turgeon and Vladimir Malakhov, playing three more games in the 1994–95 season. On June 4, 1996, Darby was claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia Flyers after he spent most of the 1995–96 season in the AHL with the Worcester IceCats.

In 1998, he was claimed by the Nashville Predators in the expansion draft, but returned to the Montreal Canadiens in 1999 as a free agent without playing a game with Nashville. There he enjoyed his two best NHL seasons, playing 154 games and registering 45 points in the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 seasons, before leaving for the New Jersey Devils as a free agent after playing the 2001–02 season with Quebec of the AHL. Again Darby was unable to consistently remain in the NHL, playing just 5 games over the next two seasons before leaving the Devils and signing as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who traded him to the Vancouver Canucks for Future Considerations. After 2006, Darby finished his career in Europe with Augsburger Panther of the DEL in Germany and HC TWK Innsbruck in Austria.

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1987–88 Albany Academy HS-NY 29 11 27 38
1988–89 Albany Academy HS-NY 29 36 40 76
1989–90 Albany Academy HS-NY 29 32 53 85 85
1990–91 Albany Academy HS-NY 29 33 61 94 93 4 8 1 9
1991–92 Providence College HE 35 17 24 41 47
1992–93 Providence College HE 35 11 21 32 62
1993–94 Fredericton Canadiens AHL 66 23 33 56 51
1994–95 Fredericton Canadiens AHL 64 21 47 68 82
1994–95 Montreal Canadiens NHL 10 0 2 2 0
1994–95 New York Islanders NHL 3 0 0 0 0
1995–96 New York Islanders NHL 10 0 2 2 0
1995–96 Worcester IceCats AHL 68 22 28 50 47 4 1 1 2 2
1996–97 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 9 1 4 5 2
1996–97 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 59 26 33 59 24 10 3 6 9 0
1997–98 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 3 1 0 1 0
1997–98 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 77 42 45 87 34 20 5 9 14 4
1998–99 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 81 32 22 54 33 2 3 0 3 0
1999–00 Montreal Canadiens NHL 76 7 10 17 14
2000–01 Montreal Canadiens NHL 78 12 16 28 16
2001–02 Montreal Canadiens NHL 2 0 0 0 0
2001–02 Quebec Citadelles AHL 66 16 55 71 18 3 2 1 3 0
2002–03 New Jersey Devils NHL 3 0 1 1 0
2002–03 Albany River Rats AHL 76 23 51 74 42
2003–04 Albany River Rats AHL 77 21 48 69 44
2003–04 New Jersey Devils NHL 2 0 0 0 0
2004–05 Springfield Falcons AHL 70 8 26 34 28
2005–06 Manitoba Moose AHL 80 16 36 52 44 13 3 7 10 2
2006–07 Augsburger Panther DEL 52 17 34 51 56
2007–08 HC TWK Innsbruck EBEL 42 13 30 43 30 3 0 0 0 4
AHL totals 703 218 402 620 414 50 14 24 38 8
NHL totals 196 21 35 56 32

International

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Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
2001 United States WC 9 0 2 2 2
Senior totals 9 0 2 2 2

Awards and honors

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Award Year
College
All-Hockey East Rookie Team 1991–92
HE Rookie of the Year 1991–92
AHL
First All-Star Team 1997–98
Second All-Star Team 2002–03
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by Hockey East Rookie of the Year
1991–92
Shared With
Ian Moran
Succeeded by