Was Scott Stevens a dirty hitter

[VaughanBender72]

Just wondering. Hear a lot about how he was a dirty hitter but never knew how ?

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[TheDevilMadeMe]

4 elbowing minors in his entire career

 

[Copmuter*]

I consider the hit on Kariya to be dirty

It looks like an intent to injure

 

[Hobnobs]

4 elbowing minors in his entire career

but usually hit with the intent to injure. Now the question is how dirty was this compared to his peers.

 

[Jacques Trap*]

With the interpretation of the rules back then, no, he was not. In today's NHL, definitely

 

[billybudd]

but usually hit with the intent to injure.

This is the correct answer.

Stevens was not a flagrant rule violator, if that's what you're asking. Of his famous hits, only the Kariya hit is a guaranteed suspension today.

He's the first player I know of, however, that made it a habit of throwing legal body checks with the intent of putting the other guy on IR. Someone like Robinson might crush you occasionally, but he wasn't looking for kill shots in the same way Stevens was. Messier would hurt you, but seldom legally.

Whether what Stevens did was "dirty" or not probably depends on who you ask, but I will say a large part of the concussion epidemic from 06-12 was an influx of players who watched Stevens as kids and tried to emulate him as pros.

That's not his fault, but it is one negative effect he had on the game past his retirement.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

but usually hit with the intent to injure. Now the question is how dirty was this compared to his peers.

There's a difference between an intent to intimidate by causing physical pain and an intent to cause serious injury.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

This is the correct answer.

Stevens was not a flagrant rule violator, if that's what you're asking. Of his famous hits, only the Kariya hit is a guaranteed suspension today.

He's the first player I know of, however, that made it a habit of throwing legal body checks with the intent of putting the other guy on IR, however. Someone like Robinson might crush you occasionally, but he wasn't looking for kill shots in the same way Stevens was. Messier would hurt you, but seldom legally.

Whether what Stevens did was "dirty" or not probably depends on who you ask, but I will say a large part of the concussion epidemic from 06-12 was an influx of players who watched Stevens as kids and tried to emulate him as pros.

That's not his fault, but it is one negative effect he had on the game past his retirement.

A "habit" that only showed up in the playoffs, mind you. Seriously - that's one reason why Stevens' famous hits were so famous - they were all in the playoffs.

 

[looseneditforyou]

He threw the dirtiest hits he could get away with then, just as many players do now. He threw incredibly hard hits and had a knack for blindsiding opponents and appearing out of nowhere.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

He threw the dirtiest hits he could get away with then, just as many players do now. He threw incredibly hard hits and had a knack for blindsiding opponents and appearing out of nowhere.

That begs the question - are the hits dirty if they are allowed by the rules at the time? He certainly hit as hard as he possibly could within the bounds of the rules at the time.

(Oh and I agree that the Kariya hit was late and probably would have been a penalty and possible short suspension even at the time if it had occurred in the regular season).

 

[Bear of Bad News]

I never found him a "dirty" hitter - noting that you have to take into account the era.

He was definitely a "hard" hitter.

 

[Big Phil]

No, he wasn't dirty. He was very intimidating though. Ask Scott Stevens if he would trade one of his three rings and give one to Lindros. Not a chance. Here's why, the Lindros hit was in Game 7 and one thing that often gets forgotten from that play is that Lindros was one little shovel pass away from sending Leclair in for a breakaway. Honestly watch it. Stevens hits him in the nick of time. That was a promising rush and Stevens stopped it. If Stevens lets up the Flyers could score on that play. Maybe they don't win the Cup if Stevens doesn't lay that big hit, literally.

So should we feel bad that a guy who was facing Stevens but had his head down and should have known better got hit fair game? Nope. That was Scott Stevens.

 

[Hobnobs]

There's a difference between an intent to intimidate by causing physical pain and an intent to cause serious injury.

Going for the head is intent to cause serious injury. This wasn't something only Stevens did tho so you hardly need to be defensive about it.

and to people saying he threw the dirtiest hits, no he didnt. Watch a guy like Andy Sutton for that.

 

[Killion]

I never found him a "dirty" hitter - noting that you have to take into account the era.

He was definitely a "hard" hitter.

Ya I agree with this. There have been plenty over they years. Denis Potvin. Cam Neely. Wendel Clark from the late 70's on. If we go back, Bill Gadsby amongst others.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Going for the head is intent to cause serious injury. This wasn't something only Stevens did tho so you hardly need to be defensive about it.

and to people saying he threw the dirtiest hits, no he didnt. Watch a guy like Andy Sutton for that.

Hardly defensive. And you would think that a player who intentionally went for the head as you claim would have gotten his share of elbowing penalties.

I don't think Stevens went out of his way to avoid head contact, but I don't think he went out of his way to make it, either. But I guess only Scott knows for sure. The head was rarely the principal point of contact during his hits, but often his shoulder pad ended up hitting the head.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Going for the head is intent to cause serious injury. This wasn't something only Stevens did tho so you hardly need to be defensive about it.

Just because he disagreed with your claim, that doesn't necessarily mean that he's being "defensive about it".

 

[Your Boy Troy]

The good thing with Scott Stevens was that he dropped the gloves occasionally for how he played, same thing with Bryan Marchment.

The new-era players like Niklas Kronwall, Brooks Orpik, and Dion Phaneuf are never or rarely held accountable for their questionable hits. It is frustrating watching the NHL today. Many players are afraid to retaliate against these players because they run the risk of getting a penalty.

 

[Mickey Marner]

I thought Scott Stevens was the devil himself but I respected the hell out of his hitting prowess. He hit within the rules but he hit to hurt you. No mercy, no remorse, just pure unadulterated physical punishment. He knew exactly where the line was and he had toeing it down to a science. Stevens probably threw 5000-6000 hits in his career, how many dirty ones can you name?

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

The good thing with thing with Scott Stevens was that dropped the gloves occasionally for how he played, same thing with Bryan Marchment.

The new-era players like Niklas Kronwall, Brooks Orpik, and Dion Phaneuf are never or rarely held accountable for their questionable hits. It is frustrating watching the NHL today. Many players are afraid to retaliate against these players because they run the risk of getting a penalty.

Before Jacques Lemaire and Larry Robinson got Scott to tone down his temper, Stevens dropped the gloves a lot more than occasionally. "Scottie didn't have a short fuse; he had no fuse!"

 

[Hobnobs]

Hardly defensive. And you would think that a player who intentionally went for the head as you claim would have gotten his share of elbowing penalties.

I don't think Stevens went out of his way to avoid head contact, but I don't think he went out of his way to make it, either. But I guess only Scott knows for sure. The head was rarely the principal point of contact during his hits, but often his shoulder pad ended up hitting the head.

Thats pretty non sequitur, why would he have more elbowing penalties?

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Thats pretty non sequitur, why would he have more elbowing penalties?

The elbow is the easiest and most efficient way to target the head.

 

[Hobnobs]

The elbow is the easiest and most efficient way to target the head.

But its not something you need to do to hit the head and its hardly proof that he didnt target heads.

Lawyer: "Your honor, this man couldnt have robbed the store because he didnt use a gun and we know that, that is the easiest and most efficient way to rob a store. So he must be innocent"

 

[Hobnobs]

I thought Scott Stevens was the devil himself but I respected the hell out of his hitting prowess. He hit within the rules but he hit to hurt you. No mercy, no remorse, just pure unadulterated physical punishment. He knew exactly where the line was and he had toeing it down to a science. Stevens probably threw 5000-6000 hits in his career, how many dirty ones can you name?

Off the top of my head?

Ron Francis
Kris King
Paul Kariya
Langkow
Recchi (Knee)
Trying to drive MacTavish head into the ice
Errey
Lindros

 

[Mickey Marner]

Off the top of my head?

Ron Francis
Kris King
Paul Kariya
Langkow
Recchi (Knee)
Trying to drive MacTavish head into the ice
Errey
Lindros

So, off the top of your head 8/5000+ hits Stevens threw were dirty. If you hit as often as Stevens did and <1% are dirty I'd say you're a clean hitter. Feel free to post more though, perhaps only 98% were clean.

 

[Hobnobs]

So, off the top of your head 8/5000+ hits Stevens threw were dirty. If you hit as often as Stevens did and <1% are dirty I'd say you're a clean hitter. Feel free to post more though, perhaps only 98% were clean.

He didnt hit that much and he definitely didnt average 240+ hits/season for 22 years...