Career highlights of one of my all time favorite players, New Jersey Devils defenseman Scott Stevens. From hits, to fights, to all of Stevens' shenanigans. Legend.
This guy played 22 years in the NHL. And NEVER posted a negative plus minus over the season. People forget how good of a conventional defenseman he was because how physical he played
@@tedbear6350 it amazes me that guys like Scott made a living off of it. He mastered it, and it was legal. It made peewee hockey a bloodbath in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Every kid on the ice mimicked what they saw on tv. I know from experience that it was a rough time to learn to play the game...
@@tedbear6350 It was legal for him. He got special treatment because he was an all-around great and well-respected D-Man for many years before he started playing the Head Hunter. As he got older, he was slowing down and, offensively, wasn't putting the numbers up he had years earlier. So, he became a human missile. (How lucky was he to have Niedermayer and Rafalski to back him up when he pinched?) He was great at head-hunting, but who else was even trying to do that? Was no one else talented enough to do that?
@@tedbear6350 tbh most his hits then are legal now unless you wanna cherry pick ones like the lindros hit. Most his hits are elbow tucked in, feet on the ice, and drove through your chest with his shoulder.
@@mr.devil9577 He taught me the what I called the "ghost elbow", lead with the shoulder, but give a little lift. Never used it on anyone's head, but it was effective to the upper body, especially the chest.
Die hard Devils fan and still love Brian Leetch and what he did/brought to the Rangers! He was your Scott Stevens in a different way but same result winning a Cup
@@QueensNewYorkguydamm look at the respect between you guys I love it and funny enough I grew up more of a Rangers fan and my best friend is a Devils fan and we bought season tickets for the Devils this season and I’m excited for them it’s gonna be fun
I have loved Scott stevens since he was on the caps. We as Devils fans have no idea how lucky we were to have one of the best captains that a team could ask for. He always brought his A game day in and day out. This is one of my favorite Scott Stevens videos I have come across so have to say thanks and applaud you on a great job splicing all his greatest moments :)
still my favorite all time player with Scotty Neidermeyer as a close 1b. Stevens laying the law as a kid was the freaking greatest show to see all winter, Good sh!t
The epitome of a player who did anything it took to win. He played every shift like it was his last. Combine with his skill level and he became a legend. So glad he got a Conn Smythe after getting ripped off on the Norris so many times!!!!!
Tough for Lindros and Kariya to suffer the way they have. Steven's head-hunting was not "tough", though. Cowardly and completely in violation of NHL rules. He was allowed to get away with it because he was Scott Stevens. He was older when he started playing MMA hockey. Just go out and knock the head off the other teams' star player. He was too slow to jump into the rush like he had when he was younger. Imagine if more players had hit like that. Every team would have one of their top players careers' diminished and cut short.
@@andreinekrasov2036 It wasn't a violation of any rule, and many players hit to the head like Stevens did. Sounds like you're like 18 years old and didn't start watching hockey until the mid-late 2000s.
Stevens hits were clean body checks. (Well at the time). He always used his shoulder. In the slow mo it may look like his elbow was involved but that's just the follow through momentum. The opponents were always on their way to the ice when u see Stevens arm/elbow raising up. The point of contact was clean shoulder. In 22 years of playing hockey in over 1,600 games Stevens only had 11 elbowing penalties. It's the guys deliberately throwing elbows who were the dirty ones. Under the rules at the time, an open ice body check was legal "as long as the checkers shoulder/chest was used as the point of contact with the opposing player, elbows are kept in to the body at contact, checkers stick is kept away from the opposing player, and the checker must not leave his skates at moment of contact" In every hit u see Stevens abide by those rules. His shoulder was contact point. His elbow is down, his stick is deliberately kept down & away from the opponent, and his skates maintain contact with the ice surface. Im a flyers fan & remember the lindros hit very well. It sucked. We new we'd lose the game at that point, but we all new Stevens was a future hall of famer who delivered brutal but clean checks. And we all wished that Stevens was on our team.
I saw a great picture of Scott Stevens on Team Canada against the Russians. His arm was fully extended with fist in the Russian's face. He was just saying hi.
Bruins fan here: In 1983 the Washington Capitals selected Scott Stevens fifth overall. The Boston Bruins selected Gord Kluzak first overall. What couldve been with Stevens and Bourque at the blue line for 20 years ...
As an Avalanche fan, there was only 2 defensemen in that era that I knew were legitimate defensemen: Scott Stevens Adam Foote Those two would be worth 25M$/Y nowadays.
1:13 was when Tie Domi elbowed Scott Niedermayer unconcious in between whistles. He's lucky Stevens was in the box because he would have had a serious fight on his hands.
Greatest Captain Ever and it’s not even close! He brought out the best in all his teammates!! Allowed Elias and Sykora, Gomez and Mogilny during the Devils best years offensively from 1999 to 2001 to roam free like gazelles cause #4 the big enforcer would wreck shop if/on anyone who dared violate those elite skilled forwards!
@Brian Johnston it would be very interesting to see how current players have handled the game of the past. it was much more aggressive. my conviction that Jagr played for so long in the League because no one beat him hard in recent years
He was big strong dirty and nasty no doubt but he (mostly) played within the rules of his era. A true warrior. Oh, and I have never been a fan of his or any team he played for.
When I went to college (95 to 99) my roommate was a Pittsburgh Pens fan and he HATES those two guys. I loved the fact that he hates those two because I knew it was because he was jealous of how the Devils with this two guys played.
@@marvinlynch1305 understandable...my roommate did too. The Devils basically told him to annoy the opposing team’s best player until they lost their minds.
Dig deep in his highlights, and all you will see is a dirty blind side artist coming out of nowhere(usually charging from one side of the D to the other) to hit someone who never had a chance to see him! All his skill as a D-man means NOTHING up against his Damn DIRTY play! What did he accomplish as an NHL hockey player? He cut short the CAREERS of some young kids! That's it!
huge scott stevens fan but the lindros and kariya hits were to the head and late to todays standards. but thats why those guys were warriors back then, different game
Really? Where were the penalties and suspensions on those hits?? Answer: there were none. Did you have more knowledge than the dudes in the Dept of Player Safety. They had replay to look at.
Kariya hit’s definitely late. Stop whining about the lindros hit, he was just as dirty of a player as Stevens and got taken out with a clean shoulder hit. Stevens was prepared to hit him after Eric crossed the red line so don’t blame him for Lindros having his head down
as incredible of a player as he was, he ruined Lindros' and Kariya's careers, two incredibly skilled players who would have been even better if they played in this era. so glad hockey isn't like that anymore.
@MrKushpop I think the NHL rightly chose to go in the direction of speed and encouraging faster players as opposed to NHL pre-2004, but that's just my opinion...you might want to try the LNAH, they're pretty ratchet over there.
@MrKushpop I didn't address your questions because they didn't need to be answered. They were, by the NHL rules at the time, clean hits. And I think that's why no retribution was sought.
Nothing wrong with his physical game....except the dirty and idiotic hits on others when their heads were turned. Amazing that this guy lasted so long in the NHL without even being suspended for life is beyond me. He was a weak player who could not face others in his size unless their heads or backs were turned. Messier and Stevens should of been banned withing years of their NHL starts in my opinion. Some of his "blind hits" on Drapper, Kariya and Lindros should of been suspension for life, those hits retired 3 players.
Stop being a soft and fragile snowflake. Just because violence scares you does not give you the right to demand hockey history be erased. Hockey isn't for you, go watch soccer please.
I guess he’s the guy no one wants to play against and would rather have them on their own team. I wonder what he’s like behind closed doors with his wife and family? He strikes me as a guy who would intimidate if he didn’t get what he wants. I might be speculating but the Kariya and Lindros hits are absolutely dirty cheap shots. Ruin men’s lives so you can claim to be champion. I admire his toughness and skills but think he will be remembered for his dirty hits.
Kariya and Lindros hits were pure head-hunting. (Charge, jump, elbow combo!) Why were these hits not only tolerated but seen as great hockey hits? I don't remember seeing too many players trying to do this to their fellow hockey players. Perhaps it was because he did a lot of great, clean plays on the ice. He was a POS on some of his hits...but, they're just good and hard hockey hits because...Scott Stevens!
Neither of these hits were a charge, a jump or an elbow. Stop repeating the same nonsense comment, and stop gaming about an era you know absolutely nothing about.
He put a lot of unnecessary hits in during his time. Players without the puck. It's not hockey when players aren't allowed to play. I can appreciate his role as an enforcer, but a lot of the time it just wasn't hockey, too premeditated.