One Last Night For The Captain
Published: December 7, 2007
The Devils (15-10-2) will take the ice tonight as the leagues hottest team, having extended their winning streak to eight consecutive victories. The opponent doesn’t exactly have much to brag about. The Washington Capitals (9-16-2) will be at the other end of the ice, shameful owners of the league’s worst overall record, despite starting the season a perfect 4-0.
However, for tonight, the game itself will have to take a backseat to a single man.
The Devils will pay tribute to three-time Stanley Cup champion and former Captain Scott Stevens before tonight’s puck game, recognizing his enormous accomplishment in being inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame. It is unknown just yet what the ceremony will entail, but you can bet your 2MA bookmark that it will be good. I’d like to reflect for a moment, on what Scott Stevens has meant to the Devils organization and to me, personally as a die-hard fan for many, many years.
To begin, Scott Stevens is more than just a former captain. He is, and will forever be, the Captain. Sorry, Mark. He was the face of the franchise for more than a decade, finally gaining the New Jersey Devils the respect they so very well deserved, but rarely ever received. Although winning a Stanley Cup requires the ultimate team effort, sometimes it is possible to point to one man as the base of a franchise’s rise to dominance. Scott Stevens is that man.
An undying work ethic, and an endless intensity – Stevens was the most feared defenseman in the entire league for almost his entire NHL career. I cannot think of another blue liner in recent history that could instill fear in the eyes of his opponents the way Scott Stevens has done. (see: Kozlov, Slava; Lindros, Eric; & Willis, Shane) Don’t fool yourselves though, Stevens also had his offensive upside, even leading the entire Devils team in scoring one year.
Growing up, I always looked at Scott Stevens as the ultimate competitor. I thought to myself, “This is how a leader should be. All pro athletes could learn something from this guy.” Whenever I saw an NHL captain, I always compared them to Scott Stevens – and, unfortunately for them, nobody even came close.
An induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame is a fairytale ending. It will finally close the curtain on what was, and forever will be, a truly amazing, inspiring, and destined National Hockey League career.
Forever #4, We Thank You.
5 Comments on "One Last Night For The Captain"
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Pat on Fri, 7th Dec 2007 3:49 pm
Let’s not forget to add Paul Kariya to that list of casualties.
Stevens is definately old school: they way leaders should be, not the way most of the current captains play and present themselves. He is a role model for every sport and I certainly agree that he did more for the organization than Mess did, as awesome as he was too.
I think he will be a great coach if he ever decides to go down that path. Never can you ever question his desire, work ethic, intensity, knowledge, skill and most importantly, love for the game.
He wasn’t the first, but he will forever be the best captain in the Devils history.
Dana B on Fri, 7th Dec 2007 4:27 pm
I will have lost my voice before this game has even started!
I’m soooo excited..leaving now!
Randy on Fri, 7th Dec 2007 5:11 pm
Add Ron Francis to that list. Joe, agreed, no one today instills fear in his opponents like Stevens did. Although check back in a decade or two, Dion Phaneuf might get close.
Dana B on Fri, 7th Dec 2007 11:56 pm
Great game. It was fun to be there. There was a festive attittude. Josh, were you there? I think you were sitting a couple rows behind us.
SueNJ97 on Sat, 8th Dec 2007 12:59 pm
To add something about Francis to this whole discussion…during the HOF weekend, someone (I think it was a fan) in one of the Q&A sessions that went on, said that they thought Stevens should apologive for hitting him, and would Francis like to take the opportunity to ask Stevens for that apology now?
Francis said something like, absolutely not and not only that, he doesn’t owe me one, those hits were legal and a part of the game, he has nothing to apologize for.