| Position | Center |
|---|---|
| Shoots | Right |
| Height | 6 ft |
| Height in | 1 |
| Weight lb | 195 |
| Played for | Montreal Canadiens New York Islanders Philadelphia Flyers New Jersey Devils |
| Birth date | September 26, 1972 (age 54) |
| Birth place | Oneida, New York, U.S. |
| Ntl team | USA |
| Draft (1991) | 43rd overall |
| Draft team | Montreal Canadiens |
| Career start | 1993 |
| Career end | 2008 |
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.
Playing career
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
Regular season and playoffs
| 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
| 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
| 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 | |