Is Scott Stevens one of the top 10 D-men of all time?

[chippa13 1844]

If u watch the video like someone said most of his hits are when another defenseman has tangled the forward up. The lindros hit is an absolute disgrace im suprised his next hit wasnt a dropkick after getting away with that! the kariya hit was bad aswell, kariya wasnt looking because the puck was gone and you cant say he was finishing his hit, there was enough time to ramp down instead of the damage he did. without a doubt a good d man although dirty and his record is something to be proud of, but i dont think hes top 10. niedermayer and pronger deffo should be higher than him

Sure, but Kariya coming back to wire a slapper later in that game was the stuff of legend.

[TomMc#4 0]

...yeah. Pronger isn't a dirty mother fucker.

true and true, i just had to comment on the video really. it was terrible. i think pronger is more talented altho he is dirty as well so nieds would be first.

[Penguinsfanatic 0]

#1 Scotty Stevens was not a dirty hitter. If you think his hits are elbows, look at how many elbowing calls he got his whole career. If my memory serves me correctly its below 10.

#2 He didn't head hunt, he saw the ice and layed punishing hits on players who weren't expecting the hit. Look up

This being said, the only people I would put him above are McInnis and Chelly, but then again I think Neids and Leetch belong there before Scotty

so you looked up all 2785 penalty minutes he took or do you just remember what every penalty was, so divide that by 2 just so we don't have to worry about fights and double majors and double minors and that comes out to roughly 1392.5 penalties. and you can tell me all he took was less then 10 elbow penalties

and to keep the record straight all he did was head hunt....look at all his big hits and he just lines people up that are "tangled up" with another dman

[supahdon 0]

so you looked up all 2785 penalty minutes he took or do you just remember what every penalty was, so divide that by 2 just so we don't have to worry about fights and double majors and double minors and that comes out to roughly 1392.5 penalties. and you can tell me all he took was less then 10 elbow penalties

and to keep the record straight all he did was head hunt....look at all his big hits and he just lines people up that are "tangled up" with another dman

Despite your math, you could have Google searched and found the answer: Four.

I'm sure if Stevens hadn't played for the team I cheered for, I might harbor some resentment as well. He's remembered for the hits, but nobody seems to bring up that he was a hell of a defensive defenseman.

And I always find these All-Time discussions amusing when (myself included) some of us didn't get to watch these guys in their primes on a day to day basis.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

Brian Leetch was a great 4th winger, but was defensively impaired. He is a better Gonchar, makes great offensive plays for a defenseman, but was not an actual dominant defenseman

[Jason Harris 31]

Bourque and Harvey are awfully high on that list...

Harvey's got a right to be there, but should be really be six spots above Robinson?

Bourque was a great player, but there are a few guys to consider over him, and there is no way in hell he should be above Shore.

When Bourque retired, he was 2nd in assists all-time and Top 10 in scoring among all players, not just D.

Harry Sinden said it best, since he was in the unenviable position of being asked which of his players was better. He said something along the lines of, "If I'm down by a goal with a minute left, I want Orr on the ice. If I"m up by a goal with a minute left, I want Bourque on the ice."

[Law Goalie 147]

Granted, the stats alone probably earn Bourque a slot in the Top 10 - the only reason I hesitate is that he didn't have the all-world ability of someone like Coffey (who has a legitimate shot at 'best hockey skater of all time'), nor the intimidation factor of, say, Robinson. Bourque and Lidstrom are of a type, I suppose, as are Potvin and Park, of those two pairs I think I'd prefer Lidstrom and Potvin as defencemen. Hell, I'd take Serge Savard over Brad Park.

Even so, Eddie Shore, from everything I've seen and heard, went a long way to anticipating Orr's offensive prowess while still being one of the most feared physical defenders who ever played.

[JJ Thompson94 0]

Coffey should be better than 6th, thats crazy and McCinis should be bounced for leetch. Leetch is good people too.

[mrusse01 0]

Coffey should be better than 6th, thats crazy and McCinis should be bounced for leetch. Leetch is good people too.

Dude, it's "MacInnis"...you've spelt it terribly terribly wrong twice now.

Who do you move down from that top 5 to make room for Coffey?

From everything I've read and heard, I think Robinson might be a bit low there, sounds like he was dominant on the offensive and defensive ends of the ice, not something you can't really say about guys like Coffey, Leetch, Zubov, etc.

I will say Zubov is an interesting name someone threw out there...no way in hell he's in my Top 10 All-Time, but watching him skate out of the zone is pure poetry. His puck control/passing skill is off the charts.

In my mind to be an elite all time D-man you need to be able to say he was among the very best offensively and defensively in his era; Orr, Harvey, Bourque, Lidstrom, Robinson, Shore all seem to fit that bill.

[jay 1]

Brian Leetch was a great 4th winger, but was defensively impaired. He is a better Gonchar, makes great offensive plays for a defenseman, but was not an actual dominant defenseman

Brian Leetch was not defensively impaired... especially when he was younger. He would never have been an all star defensmen without all the offense but he could have been better then an average NHL defensemen at the time getting by on his skating alone. Hell, he was absolutely amazing at both ends of the ice during the '94 cup run.

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

You never saw Leetch play in his prime. Leetchie belongs on that top 10 list. And Stevens doesn't.

[BigDipper 0]

I agree with JR and the other. Even thought Stevens did make an impact (no pun intended) whenever he played he definitely is not a top ten guy. And that's not necessarily a bad thing either. That's a pretty damn solid list right there. +1 for Leetch too. By far my favourite D-man to watch.

[mack 44]

Leetch and Stevens were great but I really can't see one person I'd knock off that list for either of them. Maybe Coffey, but I only saw him from Pittsburgh on and thought he was just another forward out there.

[Langenbrunner15 0]

If u watch the video like someone said most of his hits are when another defenseman has tangled the forward up.niedermayer and pronger deffo should be higher than him

I never knew that "team" hitting was illegal, good to know

No way in hell is Pronger better than Stevens. Pronger is very dirty and way over rated.

Nieds...amazing player.

[mrusse01 0]

Pronger is much better with the puck than Stevens though isn't he? He gets exposed a bit in international play with the bigger ice, but in the NHL he is a dominant player and has been for a long time, and will likely continue to be for a long time.

[Jason Harris 31]

Granted, the stats alone probably earn Bourque a slot in the Top 10 - the only reason I hesitate is that he didn't have the all-world ability of someone like Coffey (who has a legitimate shot at 'best hockey skater of all time'), nor the intimidation factor of, say, Robinson. Bourque and Lidstrom are of a type, I suppose, as are Potvin and Park, of those two pairs I think I'd prefer Lidstrom and Potvin as defencemen. Hell, I'd take Serge Savard over Brad Park.

Even so, Eddie Shore, from everything I've seen and heard, went a long way to anticipating Orr's offensive prowess while still being one of the most feared physical defenders who ever played.

During his prime, Bourque was generally regarded as the best defensive defenseman, which is one reason why it's interesting to note that he became the all-time leading scorer among defensemen. Longevity had much to do with it, but so did maintaining an elite consistency over that long career.

Leetch and Stevens were great but I really can't see one person I'd knock off that list for either of them. Maybe Coffey, but I only saw him from Pittsburgh on and thought he was just another forward out there.

Coffey was an amazing offensive defenseman during his Edmonton days, the closest to Orr that I've seen. His skating was exceptional.

[Eazy_b97 1]

Pronger's a better offensive player, but Stevens did have some good offensive years. The only thing I can think of that Stevens has over Pronger is more cups. Pronger is very dirty, and I believe Stevens was as well. At the top of their game Pronger's more dominant, he seems to have as good of a resume with the Norris and Hart to offset the lack of cups (though he does have one).

[Langenbrunner15 0]

Leading your team to a cup means a lot more than personal trophys.

[mack 44]

The thing that amazed me most about Stevens is he was never a minus player and it's not like he was always on great or good teams. That and the 70+ points he had one year.

[oggy_3 0]

I would say at first Stevens was top 10 but looking at the list i can say he is not top 10 but 100% top 15.

15. Phil Housley

14. Chris Pronger

13. Scott Stevens

12. Scott Neidmeyer

11. Al MacInnis

10. Chris Chelios

9. Brian Leetch

8. Larry Robinson

7. Denis Potvin

6. Paul Coffey

5. Eddie Shore

4. Nicklas Lidstrom

3. Ray Bourque

2. Doug Harvey

1. Bobby Orr

[Eazy_b97 1]

Leading your team to a cup means a lot more than personal trophys.

You mean like Pronger did last year? Lets not forget he was the key player that prevented the Ducks from making the finals 2 years ago. He has personal trophys, he has team trophy's. He has gold medals, cups, a Norris (when Lidstrom the #2 ranked D-man was playing) and a Hart (best player, not just best D-man). You'd have a valid point if he didn't have his cup or the team success, but he has done it all. That EDM team was an 8th seed that went to game 7 of the finals using a back-up goalie. Then he is the only real big addition to the Ducks and they turn around and win the cup.

[docar15 1]

To quote what you said, he layed out players who were not expecting a hit.

In my humble opinion, when an NHL level players gets so carried away, for whatever reason, that they are not expecting a hit, they deserve to be hamerred.

I would have very muched liked to see if he could take a hit ot tried to take somebody who does expect and take hits well, like Forseberg, Konstantinov, some of the 1997-98-99 RWings grind line, etc.

As for the top 10 d-men list, at the risk of sounding like an old fart, but you do make it look like hockey has only been seriously played for the last 25 years or so. You want to talk brutal? Check out some of the 1930s hockey footage.

#1 Scotty Stevens was not a dirty hitter. If you think his hits are elbows, look at how many elbowing calls he got his whole career. If my memory serves me correctly its below 10.

#2 He didn't head hunt, he saw the ice and layed punishing hits on players who weren't expecting the hit. Look up

This being said, the only people I would put him above are McInnis and Chelly, but then again I think Neids and Leetch belong there before Scotty

[mattzilla 0]

Pronger is a dominating defensemen. on d and on o. He should definitely be a top 10.. but who would you kick off? i dont know.

[chippa13 1844]

Leading your team to a cup means a lot more than personal trophys.

You mean like Pronger did last year? Lets not forget he was the key player that prevented the Ducks from making the finals 2 years ago. He has personal trophys, he has team trophy's. He has gold medals, cups, a Norris (when Lidstrom the #2 ranked D-man was playing) and a Hart (best player, not just best D-man). You'd have a valid point if he didn't have his cup or the team success, but he has done it all. That EDM team was an 8th seed that went to game 7 of the finals using a back-up goalie. Then he is the only real big addition to the Ducks and they turn around and win the cup.

Right, Anaheim's win was all Pronger. It had nothing to do with Niedermayer, Selanne, McDonald, and Kunitz all having career or near-career best years. Getzlaf, Penner, and Perry's coming out parties also had nothing to do with it. Beauchemin's development probably didn't help at all and I know that goalie J.S. something or other was just lucky to be playing behind Pronger.

[ean 0]

Neidermayer has and always will be above average and no more. Pronger a lot more dominant defensively and great from the point.

Gotta throw Housley in the mix. dude had major game.