It’s Monday, but not really. I’m told today is a holiday, but so was yesterday apparently, so all bets are off. But as the country celebrates Veterans Day yesterday and today, this evening represents an unofficial holiday to fans of the New Jersey Devils hockey club.
Tonight, Scott Stevens becomes the first Devil player to enter the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, not too far from his hometown of Kitchener, Ontario.
Though he began his career in Washington, as an offensive defensemen no less, and came to the swamp from his beloved St. Louis, Stevens will always be remembered as a New Jersey Devil. Drafted 5th overall in 1982 by the Caps with a reputation for pounding physical play and a flair for offense, he flourished in the defense-first system implemented in New Jersey, a system the league is still feeling repercussions from.
Though I was only 11, I remember the day he was “awarded” to Jersey. Before free agency in hockey was fully ironed out, compensation was awarded to teams that lost star players through Type II Free Agency.
When the Blues signed Brendan Shanahan (the reason the date still resonates, as I loved Shanny) in July 1991, the two teams couldn’t agree on compensation. The Blues reportedly offered Rod Brind’Amour, Curtis Joseph and several draft picks (The Devils drafted Martin Brodeur with the 20th overall pick in the 1990 Entry Draft, so CuJo was useless). The Devils countered with Stevens. Two months later, an independent arbitrator awarded Scott Stevens to the Devils, much to the chagrin of the Blues and Stevens himself, who at first refused to report to the so-called “Mickey Mouse organization” still searching for an identity in the ever-changing NHL.
Looking back, it’s hard to blame him. The Devils were a blip on the NYC Metro sports map, and barely registered in the high-flying NHL of the ‘80s.
Apparently, General Manager Lou Lamoriello convinced Scotty that coming to Jersey, and (whether they knew it or not) forming the foundation of a new NHL dynasty, would benefit his career. Though he continued to put up offensive numbers his first three seasons (an impressive 59, 57, and 78 points respectively), it was in the 1995 season that Stevens fully bought into the stay-at-home style preached by second-year Trapmeister coach Jacques Lemaire. His offensive output dropped by 56 points, but in exchange for offense (the Devils way, innit) Stevens perfected his craft in becoming the most feared open-ice hitter of all time.
He first served notice in the 1995 Stanley Cup finals against the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings. Though the Devils methodically swept the tilt in four games, the series effectively ended in Game 2, when Stevens leveled Slava Kozlov with what remains the most brutal hit I’ve ever seen. Like a freight-train, Stevens threw his entire weight into his shoulder and crushed an unsuspecting Kozlov, who then lay perfectly still on the ice as if just shot with a machine gun.
"For the next 10 minutes after the hit, I didn't remember a lot, I can tell you that," Kozlov recently told the Toronto Sun.
Moments afterwards, Stevens looked toward the Red Wings bench, pointed at Dino Ciccarelli, and shouted “You’re next.” Series over.
Over the next decade – and over two more Stanley Cup championships in 2000 and 2003 – Stevens’ victim list reads like an NHL All-Star lineup: Ron Francis (ironically inducted into the same HOF class tonight), Paul Kariya, Tomas Kaberle, Daymond Langkow, Kevyn Adams, Shane Willis and Eric Lindros, who was sent to the hospital about 10 minutes after returning from a concussion in Game 7 of the 2000 Eastern Conference Final.
(Stevens may be known mostly for the Lindros hit, but it paled in comparison to the one levied on Kozlov. Check out a collection of hits – and other Stevens highlights -
here.
In the three years after Stevens retired in 2004, his past on-ice presence was magnified in his absence. Teams now routinely rough up New Jersey, and constantly crash Brodeur without fear of retribution. Teams like Carolina and Ottawa have beaten the Devils to a pulp on their way to playoff advancement. The team, still, has no true captain. The Devils have players who wear the C, and have their share of enforcers – but Stevens filled both roles with passion and intensity matched by few in the game’s storied history.
When Stevens came to New Jersey, we were a rudderless squad in ugly Christmas Tree uniforms, never advancing to the Cup finals in its brief 10 year existence. Upon retirement, The New Jersey Devils are recognized as a model franchise, with three Stanley Cup banners, countless division titles and Number 4 hanging from the rafters.
Stevens’ tenure in the swamp was not without controversy. His refusal to first report in 1991 was only topped by his re-signing with the Blues for $17 million after the 1994 season, though the Devils leveled tampering charges against the Blues and won a settlement that included cash, draft picks and most importantly, the right to retain their captain. It was the season after that, it should be noted, that Stevens truly came into his own as a feared defender.
On the ice, there was no one like him. The only player to win a Conn Smythe (playoff MVP, 2000) based on defensiveness and physicality alone, Scott Stevens was hell on skates. He won playoff series’ with his presence and intimidation. He won games with his head. And despite a litany of open-ice hits that effectively ended careers (where have you gone, Willis?) he was only assessed three elbowing penalties in his entire career. All of his demolitions were within the NHL rules.
Despite that, opponents called him a dirty cheap-shot artist. But we called him our captain. And with the help of Lou Lams upstairs and Marty in net, that shinny new arena in Newark is truly the house that Scott Stevens built. The Devils are a team known for defense, and Stevens was our greatest defender.
But more than that, he was an ambassador who put the New Jersey Devils on the map. And gave Devils fans everywhere a sense of pride never felt before.
Thank you, Scott.
Scott Stevens’ HOF induction ceremony airs tonight at 7 p.m. on the NHL Network, Channel 259 on Boston-area Comcast. Congrats also to fellow ’07 inductees Ron Francis and Al MacInnis. Mark Messier can still suck my ass, as far as I’m concerned.
