Scott Stevens Career Biography and Statistics

Bio:
Although he played in the modern NHL era, Scott Stevens was a throwback. A rugged "stay at home" defenseman who played with a ferocious, physical presence and was known for his bone-crushing, often controversial open-ice hits, Stevens is one of the greatest blueliners in NHL history. He is among the NHL's all-time leaders in games played (both in the regular season and in the Stanley Cup playoffs). Drafted in the first round by the Washington Capitals in 1982, Stevens played nine seasons with the Capitols and thrived in their defense-oriented system. In the summer of 1990, Stevens was signed as a restricted free-agent by the St. Louis Blues who were required to compensate the Capitals with five first-round draft picks. Only 12 months later, the Blues lost Stevens when they signed New Jersey Devils forward Brendan Shanahan and thus had to compensate New Jersey. When the two teams could not come to an agreement, an arbiter ruled in favor of the Devils, who wanted only Stevens. The contretemps between the clubs over Stevens continued three years later in 1994, after the Blues attempted to resign Stevens when he became a restricted free-agent in 1994. The Devils accused the Blues of contract tampering, but eventually matched the offer, signing Stevens to what was then the most lucrative contract in team history. Four years later, the NHL ruled in favor of the Devils, who were awarded $1,425,000 and a first round draft pick in compensation for the incident. That teams should wrangle so bitterly over Stevens is not surprising, for he was a team leader and lynch pin of three Stanley Cup-winning Devils' clubs. His defensive savvy and perfect positioning was augmented by a propensity for punishing checks, some of which have rendered opponents unconscious, including a hit on Eric Lindros in the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals that gave Lindros a severe concussion and permanently reduced him to a shell of the player he once was. Although some commentators considered Stevens' checks dirty, most supported his retro style of he-man hockey. Stevens was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007.