`C' is for champion

Sporting News, The, June 19, 2000 by Larry Wigge

Devils captain SCOTT STEVENS the heart and soul of the team that won the Stanley Cup for the second time in six finals

On the night before a hockey game, Devils rookie defenseman Brian Rafalski likes to kick back and relax by watching TV, Who Wants to be a Millionaire in particular. Actually, he's OK with anything but hockey. But Rafalski's roommate has seniority. And Scott Stevens always wants to watch hockey.

"Sometimes I have to say, `Scotty, we're not going to watch another game,' "Rafalski says, shaking his head. "Because Scott doesn't just watch a game, he yells at the TV, saying `This guy should have done this and that guy should have done that.' He gets all wound up, and then he can't get to sleep."

Stevens is 3 6, but he's still a rookie when it comes to an honest love for watching the game. He often recalls the days when he and his brothers, Geoff and Michael, would practice checks and tackles and body slams in the basement, in the back yard and on the playgrounds of Kitchener, Ontario. In high school, Scott played two years of football and naturally gravitated to the violent world of middle linebacker.

But Stevens is not just a one-hit wonder.

"I remember when I was growing up, listening to my dad talk about how Borje Salming was more than just a one-dimensional player for the Maple Leafs, how he hit, handled the puck and was a real all-around leader," Stevens says. "Borje was my favorite player. I remember hearing him say he played football to be better at the physical part of the game. That was good enough for me. I figure if Borje could work at more, I could, too. Stopping an opponent from scoring any way I could became my motto."

At 6-1 and a sturdy 215 pounds, Stevens isn't your prototypical monster on defense. But just try to get past him.

"He may not be built like Dick Butkus, but I'll bet you he hits like Butkus," says Maple Leafs center Mats Sundin. "You get sort of a jolt of electricity, like you're paralyzed for a minute, when Scott steps into you with that shoulder of his.

"He's been dominant on defense in the playoffs."

Devils teammate Bobby Holik describes it differently, saying Stevens is "like a great white shark waiting in the weeds, waiting to strike anyone with their head down coming into our zone."

Big hits were the trademark of Stevens throughout these playoffs. And many of those hits changed the direction of a particular game.

The list of usually elusive victims is impressive: Florida's Pavel Bure in the first round; Toronto's Steve Thomas, Darcy Tucker and Tomas Kaberle in Round 2; and Philadelphia's Daymond Langkow and Eric Lindros in the Eastern Conference finals. Even Dallas' Brett Hull was crumbled by a Stevens hit in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals.

"It makes a change in the way you see the game," says Devils rookie John Madden of a big hit. "You go along and everyone is playing and everyone looks the same. Then, all of a sudden, you see someone just paste a guy. It's a shock to your system.

"If it's your guy who makes the hit, it's a good shock. If it's your guy who gets hit, your heart sinks for a minute. And you might be a little more timid out there."

Stevens creates a presence in front of the Devils net that makes goaltender Martin Brodeur's job a little bit easier.

"Some nights, it's like sitting in a rocking chair in goal with Scott back there," Brodeur says. "Other nights, when it gets to be like the New Jersey Turnpike at rush hour there's so much traffic in front of the goal, Scott is there like a traffic cop seeing that I don't get bumped too often.

"He is the best defenseman you'll ever see. He's all business out there."

Stevens is a warrior. He's a throwback to when hockey players would play for the fun of it. Heck, he has taken less money to stay with the Devils because he likes the people, the players and the organization's dedication to producing players through the system.

And yet before being named the Conn Smythe winner as the most valuable player in the playoffs, Stevens had never won a major individual trophy. The closest he came was second to Ray Bourque in 1988 and again in 1994 for the Norris Trophy, which goes to the league's best defenseman.

"When I took over for Robbie Ftorek, I heard Scotty has the `C' but we don't have a leader," Devils coach Larry Robinson says. "But I never saw that. Scott Stevens is the kind of guy who would give time to any teammate to talk to them, answer questions. And, on the ice, no one gives more than Scotty.

"He reminds me of Bob Gainey. Bob was our captain when I won six Stanley Cups in Montreal. He never said much, but when he did speak, everyone listened. And they both play with tremendous emotion and inspiration."

Donna Stevens is used to the intensity. Scott's wife says it's there all the time. Only this spring, she has noticed it even more.

"I could feel it whether he was just taking out the trash or even when he was reading a bedtime story to his daughter Kara," Donna says. "He took the losing personally the last couple of years. And boy was he tired of answering those questions about not having won more than a first-round series since the Stanley Cup in 1995. He definitely didn't want it to happen again."