Weight, a center from Warren, Michigan, became an elite playmaker who had his best NHL seasons with the Edmonton Oilers in the 1990s before winning the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. He also helped the United States win the inaugural World Cup of Hockey in 1996.

The New York Rangers selected Weight in the second round (No. 34) of the 1990 NHL Draft after his first of two seasons at Lake Superior State. He turned pro after the 1990-91 season and made his NHL debut with the Rangers on April 13, 1991, in a Stanley Cup Playoff game against the Washington Capitals.

Weight scored his first NHL goal against the Boston Bruins in his regular-season debut on Oct. 3, 1991, and had 40 points (15 goals, 25 assists) in 65 games when the Rangers traded him to the Edmonton Oilers on March 17, 1993.

The trade gave Weight the chance to blossom with a rebuilding team, and he took advantage of the opportunity. He had 24 goals and 74 points during his first full season wsith the Oilers in 1993-94, then had his best offensive season in 1995-96 with 104 points (25 goals, 79 assists). That came after he played a key role in the U.S. victory at the World Cup of Hockey in 1996, where he scored three goals and seven points in seven games.

He continued to put up solid offensive numbers with the Oilers, including 90 points (25 goals, 65 assists) in 2000-01, before being traded to the St. Louis Blues on July 1, 2001.

Weight averaged nearly a point a game with the Blues until the Hurricanes, enjoying the best season in their history, acquired him in a trade on Jan. 30, 2006. He helped the Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup for the first time since entering the NHL as the Hartford Whalers in 1979, though he missed the last two games of the Cup Final against the Oilers after injuring his shoulder in Game 5.

The Blues re-signed Weight in the summer of 2006, and he played his 1,000th NHL game on Nov. 17, 2006. But the struggling Blues traded him to the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 14, 2007, and he signed as a free agent with the New York Islanders on July 2, 2008. He reached the 1,000-point mark with an assist on Jan. 2, 2009. Weight was named captain of the Islanders on Oct. 2, 2009, but missed much of the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons with injuries before announcing his retirement on May 26, 2011. He finished his 19-season career with 1,033 points (278 goals, 755 assists) in 1,238 NHL games, and 72 points (23 goals, 49 assists) in 97 playoff games.