Scott Stevens (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #85)
Adjusted Stats
1982-1983 Wsh 79 GP 7 goals 13 assists 20 points 0.26 PPG
1983-1984 Wsh 80 GP 10 goals 26 assists 36 points 0.45 PPG
1984-1985 Wsh 82 GP 17 goals 36 assists 53 points 0.64 PPG
1985-1986 Wsh 75 GP 12 goals 30 assists 42 points 0.56 PPG
1986-1987 Wsh 79 GP 9 goals 44 assists 52 points 0.66 PPG
1987-1988 Wsh 82 GP 10 goals 51 assists 61 points 0.74 PPG
1988-1989 Wsh 82 GP 6 goals 51 assists 57 points 0.70 PPG
1989-1990 Wsh 57 GP 9 goals 25 assists 34 points 0.60 PPG
1990-1991 Stl 80 GP 5 goals 40 assists 45 points 0.56 PPG
1991-1992 NJ 70 GP 15 goals 38 assists 53 points 0.77 PPG
1992-1993 NJ 79 GP 10 goals 37 assists 47 points 0.60 PPG
1993-1994 NJ 81 GP 17 goals 56 assists 72 points 0.89 PPG
1994-1995 NJ* 82 GP 4 goals 35 assists 39 points 0.47 PPG
1995-1996 NJ 82 GP 5 goals 22 assists 27 points 0.33 PPG
1996-1997 NJ 79 GP 5 goals 20 assists 25 points 0.32 PPG
1997-1998 NJ 80 GP 5 goals 26 assists 30 points 0.38 PPG
1998-1999 NJ 75 GP 6 goals 26 assists 32 points 0.42 PPG
1999-2000 NJ* 78 GP 9 goals 24 assists 32 points 0.42 PPG
2000-2001 NJ 81 GP 10 goals 25 assists 35 points 0.43 PPG
2001-2002 NJ 82 GP 1 goal 19 assists 20 points 0.24 PPG
2002-2003 NJ* 81 GP 5 goals 19 assists 23 points 0.29 PPG
2003-2004 NJ 38 GP 4 goals 11 assists 14 points 0.38 PPG
Adjusted Playoff Stats
1982-1983 Wsh 4 GP 1 goal 0 assists 1 point 0.20 PPG
1983-1984 Wsh 8 GP 1 goal 7 assists 8 points 1.00 PPG
1984-1985 Wsh 5 GP 0 goals 1 assist 1 point 0.15 PPG
1985-1986 Wsh 9 GP 3 goals 7 assists 10 points 1.06 PPG
1986-1987 Wsh 7 GP 0 goals 4 assists 4 points 0.64 PPG
1987-1988 Wsh 13 GP 1 goal 8 assists 9 points 0.69 PPG
1988-1989 Wsh 6 GP 1 goal 3 assists 4 points 0.72 PPG
1989-1990 Wsh 15 GP 2 goals 6 assists 8 points 0.51 PPG
1990-1991 Stl 13 GP 0 goals 3 assists 3 points 0.20 PPG
1991-1992 NJ 7 GP 2 goals 1 assist 3 points 0.37 PPG
1992-1993 NJ 5 GP 2 goals 2 assists 3 points 0.66 PPG
1993-1994 NJ 20 GP 2 goals 9 assists 11 points 0.54 PPG
1994-1995 NJ* 20 GP 1 goal 6 assists 7 points 0.35 PPG
1996-1997 NJ 10 GP 0 goals 4 assists 4 points 0.42 PPG
1997-1998 NJ 6 GP 1 goal 0 assists 1 point 0.19 PPG
1998-1999 NJ 7 GP 2 goals 1 assist 3 points 0.47 PPG
1999-2000 NJ* 23 GP 4 goals 10 assists 13 points 0.58 PPG
2000-2001 NJ 25 GP 1 goal 8 assists 9 points 0.37 PPG
2001-2002 NJ 6 GP 0 goals 0 assists 0 points 0.00 PPG
2002-2003 NJ* 24 GP 4 goals 7 assists 11 points 0.45 PPG
Career - 1684 GP, 181 goals, 674 assists, 849 points, 0.50 PPG
Career-Highs - 17 goals (93-94); 56 assists (93-94); 72 points (93-94); 0.89 PPG (93-94)
Avg. (22 seasons) - 77 GP, 8 goals, 31 assists, 39 points, 0.50 PPG
Peak Avg. (86-94) - 76 GP, 10 goals, 43 assists, 53 points, 0.69 PPG, 0 Cups
Playoff Career - 233 GP, 28 goals, 87 assists, 113 points, 0.48 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 4 goals (99-00); 10 assists (99-00); 13 points (99-00); 1.06 PPG (85-86)
Accolades - Conn Smythe
All-Star Teams - 2-time 1st-team; 3-time 2nd-team
3-time Stanley Cup Champion
Some New Jersey Devil bias creeping into my Pyramid? Not a fucking chance!
Scott Stevens is one of the few players on my list of all-time greats whose legendary status has almost nothing to do with his offensive numbers. In fact, they are among the least impressive of anyone on the Pyramid. But you mention Scott Stevens to any hockey fan, and they immediately think of greatness, and specifically of what Stevens was best at: the open-ice hit.
If you watched hockey from 1985 to 2005, there were certain things you always wanted to see: a visionary pass by Gretzky; a remarkable holding-the-puck effort by Lemieux or Jagr; maybe even a fight by Probert. And oh yeah, you wanted to see Scott Stevens nail a guy in mid-ice. No one did it better. Stevens may best be remembered for "the hit", a devastating blow to Eric Lindros that essentially ended Lindros' career as we knew it (he played more seasons, but never with the same reckless abandon), completely turned the tide in the Flyers/Devils Eastern Conference final and arguably propelled the Devils to their cup win that year.
Was the hit even legal by today's standards? Debatable. With all that is being made of headshots these days, it's likely Stevens would be vilified instead of revered in today's hockey circles. Certainly, his hit on Paul Kariya in the 2003 Cup finals was a headshot, and a semi-late one at that. But fuck it...Scott Stevens made your ass (or more likely, your head) pay for admiring a pass or skating up the middle of the ice with your head down.
All this is not to say that Stevens wasn't also an incredibly gifted and complete defenceman. In Washington, he was relied on more as a scorer, and in 1988 he made the 1st all-star team with 61 points and a +23. Stevens signed with the St. Louis Blues in 1991, but in one of the most bizarre incidents in modern NHL history, a year later he was handed over to the Devils as compensation for the Blues' being found guilty of tampering with free agent Brendan Shanahan.
For anyone who thinks I may be overrating Stevens, here's all you need to know...the Blues offered the Devils, who were in need of a goaltender, the following package as compensation: Curtis Joseph, Rod Brind'Amour and two first round picks. The Devils turned it down. They wanted Stevens. When an arbitrator ruled in the Devils favour, a dynasty was born. I shudder at the "what-if" of how things may have turned out: the Devils would have been without Stevens, and would have handed the reigns of #1 goalie to the capable (but also mediocre come crunch time) hands of Joseph, rather than grooming young Martin Brodeur. No Stevens, no Brodeur, probably no Cups.
But I digress. I listed Stevens' "peak average" as being from 1986 to 1994, because that's when he scored the most points. As I mentioned, though, we don't really care about Stevens' point totals (although in 1994, when he made another 1st-team all-star, Stevens had a career-high 17 goals and 72 points and led the upstart Devils to the Conference finals). No, the era we'll remember Stevens for is from 1995 to 2003, when the Devils were the league's premier defensive team and Stevens was their anchor...blocking shots, shutting down opponents, and of course, intimidating them with fearsome hits.
To see how Stevens contributed to the team in ways that went beyond the score-sheet, we need only look at the 2000 playoffs, in which Stevens won the Conn Smythe award with a mere 13 adjusted points in 23 games. Yet anyone who watched those playoffs remembers him being the key player who held the Maple Leafs to a paltry six shots on goal in the elimination Game 6 of the semifinals, and nailed Lindros in the Conference finals, lifting the Devils' hopes that they could come back from a 3-1 series deficit.
The next year, in which the Devils ended up losing in the Cup final, contained for me one of the quintessential Stevens moments...and he wasn't even on the ice. It was when Tie Domi elbowed Scott Niedermayer in the head with one of the dirtiest cheapshots I've ever seen. Stevens was in the penalty box and was one of the only players on either side who saw the incident. The look on his face is rage personified: you can tell he wants to get out of the box and kill Domi.
Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPbN72u4hxs
The man looks like a caged tiger. Eventually, he gets a semblance of composure and calls Bobby Holik over, pointing directly at Domi. This is a man who you would want in the trenches in war. You would want him as your captain. As a Devils' fan, I was lucky to have him.
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