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“The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile, but that it is indifferent. If we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death, our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfillment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.” - Stanley Kubrick
not true. Lemieux made Stevens a better player, but Stevens had 2 40+ goals seasons where Lemieux did not play in a majority of the games ('90-'91 and '93-'94). He was big, fast, and had good hands for a big man.
not true. Lemieux made Stevens a better player, but Stevens had 2 40+ goals seasons where Lemieux did not play in a majority of the games ('90-'91 and '93-'94). He was big, fast, and had good hands for a big man.
Well said. He had nifty hands for roofing pucks while in close and an absolute monster of a shot. Also he was just a freight train let loose. Not only was he fast but he would run over you in route to the net.
He was so much more than just a dummy around the net. He would make some nifty passes and his game 6 pass to Joey Mullen in 91 just shows his sense. People forget that the 2nd line of that first cup was Stevens-Francis-Mullen and did Steven ever produce.
Does anyone else remember how ballsy he was when he first came up? Always pushing and shoving after plays were blown dead and he owned the slot.
Defensively I thought he was pretty weak and maybe that wasn't overly his fault. With Mario playing more like a LW, he was forced to play center and go slot to slot. Hardly a big deal when they're putting up numbers like that.
Stevens was strong as a bull, with great hands and good skating. He would be great today just as he was back then. He never struck me as really mean but he was fearless and vocal. That part of his game disappeared after his horrible injury. It ruined his career. Well that and the drugs.
Yeah I'll just echo what everyone else said. Stevens was a big-bodied good skater and had really good hands. He was surely helped along by Lemieux, but guys like that 20 years ago were a rare breed. In that era, a guy that was strong enough to hold down the slot and had good hands was always going to be effective (read: Kerr, Tim).
******* Rich Pilon for basically ending the prime of his career....
Insert "cocaine and hookers" joke here. In fact, shouldn't the Yahoo FH league that was started here be called "Cocaine & Hookers"? Seems perfectly reasonable to me given the state of the league at present.
Not so sure those early 90's teams would won those Cups without Stevens. He scored huge goals, he was a leader, and he held guys accountable. If I remember, Stevens came out in the Boston papers and said the team would come back and win the series being down 2-0. He had a confidence, and it rubbed off on that team.
Stevens was my idol when I was a kid. 25 was even my number on pretty much every team I played on.
Definitely not in the same class. Could be a poor man's Ryan Malone someday? Starting to look like he'll be the next Dave Roache at this point.
Ryan Malone has hands, can skate well enough that he can kill penalties and uses his body effectively in traffic areas. He's been a 20 goal scorer (or on pace for it) in the NHL every season.
Eric Tangradi has 1 goal in 40 games. There is the chicken/egg debate for ice-time and production, but it's quite evident to me Tangradi hasn't got the consistency that a top pro like Malone has in terms of positioning, puck skills and shot to be a top 6 NHL caliber forward.
And that's not meant to skewer Tangradi. NHL defensemen and goalies make it about impossible for Kevin Stevens type forwards to exist. Which is why everyone's always in pursuit of the next one.
I think of Lucic as the modern day Kevin Stevens, size with a lot of skill and will throw down if needed.
KS was very good in tight on the goal steering/chipping in goals in the crease area. Had he not had his devastating injury in 93/94 he might have been effective for another few seasons beyond that at his current levels at the time.
It wasn't just #66, #10 Francis, 68 Jagr, 08 Recchi, #11 Cullen all had a lot of help in what Kevin was able to do.
You could take away any individual from that list and he was set still. Get him the puck at the right moment and he was golden.
Quote:
1991 Stanley Cup
The 1990-1991 season had Mario Lemieux playing just 26 games. The Penguins line of Mark Recchi, John Cullen and Kevin Stevens behind the great coaching of Badger Bob Johnson managed to lift the Penguins enough to reach the playoffs. Craig Patrick's blockbuster trade of John Cullen, Zarley Zalapski and Jeff Parker for Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings from the Hartford Whalers would be what many would say what won the cup for the Penguins. Led through the playoffs by Mario Lemieux, Mark Recchi, Paul Coffee, the great goaltending of Tom Barrasso, and spectacular backup by Frank Pietrangelo the Penguins won their first Stanley Cup.
Insert "cocaine and hookers" joke here. In fact, shouldn't the Yahoo FH league that was started here be called "Cocaine & Hookers"? Seems perfectly reasonable to me given the state of the league at present.
Most if not all of this was after his injury. He was never the same.
And it should also be noted, Ryan Malone really only turned into the hockey player he is about 9 years after he was drafted. It was only until the Cup run where I truly think he made a name for himself. Before then, people wanted him off this team in the worst way. Sure he put up good goal totals on a bad team, but that was unquestionably one of those things where average players just capitalized playing on a piss poor team, and being given ice time he wouldn't have ever earned on a good team.
I still think it's way too soon to write Tangradi off, especially considering the development time he has lost to injury. He is coming up on that period though where he needs to make some strides and show he's something more than what he has shown thus far.
1) He was a big guy that had good skating ability and great hands/finish. At that time, that was a very rare breed.
2) Pair that rare breed with Mario Lemieux.... bingo. Awesome.
He was a skilled pwf type already, before he got pwned by Pilon's visor...he would have been an amazing Penguin without the hookers and blow stuff that marred his career later on with the Rags.
I'm still waiting for a player that is similar to him to come up through the Pens system, might never happen. For a brief moment, I thought maybe Tangradi would be a poor man's version but we'll see.
James Neal is a lot like Stevens, IMO. People forget, Artie wasn't a bruiser that you associate with a "power forward" in the early 90's. He was just a big, strong, tough guy to handle. He wasn't running dudes through the end boards. He used his size to his advantage, and he was a savvy hockey player. He knew where to stand to score goals, he'd pay a price to score them, and he had a shot to score more often than not. Neal and Artie have some similarities
And speaking of Stevens, my friend said he saw Artie on the Southside a few months ago, and that he has to be pushing about 260 lbs.
James Neal is a lot like Stevens, IMO. People forget, Artie wasn't a bruiser that you associate with a "power forward" in the early 90's. He was just a big, strong, tough guy to handle. He wasn't running dudes through the end boards. He used his size to his advantage, and he was a savvy hockey player. He knew where to stand to score goals, he'd pay a price to score them, and he had a shot to score more often than not. Neal and Artie have some similarities
And speaking of Stevens, my friend said he saw Artie on the Southside a few months ago, and that he has to be pushing about 260 lbs.
Neal is not a bad comparison actually. Stevens was a bit more a freight train (and meaner) and Neal is more of a sniper but I get the comparison. Lucic is not a bad comparison either but Stevens was more skilled and significantly faster.
