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Fear doesn’t always come with the threat of being punched in the face, sometimes fear comes from knowing there’s a presence on the ice that can deliver a hit so powerful it can change the course of a game or series. That’s what Scott Stevens did.
Stevens was one of the premier defensive defensemen throughout his 22-year career with the Washington Capitals, St. Louis Blues, and New Jersey Devils. Early on with the Caps and his one season with the Blues, Stevens was a ruthlessly physical blue liner and willing to fight to prove it. But when he landed in New Jersey, the fighting slowed down, but his physical play grew even stronger.
It’s often said that if Stevens played in the NHL today that he’d be reviled and suspended so often it would make Tom Wilson look like a dangler in comparison. Stevens delivered hits that unfortunately altered careers in the cases of Paul Kariya and Eric Lindros, but his reputation for patrolling open ice like a Great White Shark in the open waters was the thing of legend.