| abstract | - A steady defenceman with some offensive abilities, Cavallini was selected by the Washington Capitals in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. He entered the NHL after a season at Providence College where the Friars lost in the National Championchip to RPI and future NHL star Adam Oates. After playing parts of two seasons with the Capitals, he was traded to the St. Louis Blues where he would spend almost six seasons including his best campaign, the 1989–90 season. He played in the 1990 All-Star game and led the league in plus/minus rating that season. He then returned to the Capitals for a second tour during the 1992–93 NHL season in a trade that sent Kevin Miller to the Blues. Cavallini would once again be traded by the Capitals, this time to the Dallas Stars where he would play until his retirement a few weeks into the 1995–96 NHL season. In 564 NHL games, Cavallini scored 56 goals and 177 assists. Cavallini missed 13 games during the 1990–91 season with a bizarre left index finger injury, in which he lost the tip of the finger. He suffered the injury while blocking a Doug Wilson slapshot during St. Louis' December 22, 1990, game vs. Chicago. The force of Wilson's shot literally severed the tip of Cavallini's finger. Cavallini found the tip of the finger inside his glove. Doctors hoped they could re-attach the tip in surgery, but their efforts failed. The piece of the finger was removed and the exposed bone covered with grafted skin. Cavallini did not return to action until St. Louis' January 25, 1991, game at Detroit. He scored a goal in that game. Cavallini has three children, Zach, Reid and Cade Cavallini, and his wife's name is Tracy Smith, once an Olympic runner for Canada. They currently live in St. Louis, MO, where Cavallini is a successful stock broker.
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