The Panther
Registered User
So, I'm wondering what happened to Scott Stevens' point totals after the Work Stoppage in 1995?
For context:
In 1993-94 (kind of the 90s-Devils' / Brodeur's "break-out" season), Stevens had an impressive 78 points (for reference, that is only 6 fewer points than Mark Messier). He led New Jersey in scoring, while finishing 2nd in Norris voting! This style was obviously working for him, as he also had an NHL-best +53 and New Jersey had a 106-point season (best in franchise history).
1995 is the Work Stoppage mini-season. The Devils have kind of a middling season, and Stevens moves down to 5th in team scoring (but still best among team defenceman, ahead of young Niedermayer). In the playoffs, of course, the Devils catch fire when beating Boston and go on to win the Stanley Cup in convincing fashion. Stevens is 11th in team scoring in the playoffs.
Contrary to popular belief, the Devils do not win by merely shutting down other teams' offenses; they themselves score a healthy 67 goals in 20 games en route to the Cup.
Then, in 1995-96, the Devils have a little setback as they fall to .524 on the season and are the second-weakest offense in the League. Stevens falls to 8th in team scoring, but production-wise plummets to 28 points (exactly 70 fewer points than his previous full season... for the same team... and the same coach).
The Devils improve offensive in 1996-97 and go back to being one of the stronger teams in the League, but Stevens does not recover offensively, putting up merely 24 points (11th on the club). The rest of his career plays out like this, offensively speaking.
So, it seems clear that Stevens could have (and under normal circumstances, would have) produced more offensively after the Work Stoppage, so I'm wondering if there was a conscious decision made, with Jacques Lemaire, that Stevens would take an offensive back-seat to Niedermayer? It's just rare to see a player, still strong and in his prime, still in an offensive season (1995-96, somewhat 1996-97), still on a strong team, suddenly plummet in scoring so drastically.
For context:
In 1993-94 (kind of the 90s-Devils' / Brodeur's "break-out" season), Stevens had an impressive 78 points (for reference, that is only 6 fewer points than Mark Messier). He led New Jersey in scoring, while finishing 2nd in Norris voting! This style was obviously working for him, as he also had an NHL-best +53 and New Jersey had a 106-point season (best in franchise history).
1995 is the Work Stoppage mini-season. The Devils have kind of a middling season, and Stevens moves down to 5th in team scoring (but still best among team defenceman, ahead of young Niedermayer). In the playoffs, of course, the Devils catch fire when beating Boston and go on to win the Stanley Cup in convincing fashion. Stevens is 11th in team scoring in the playoffs.
Contrary to popular belief, the Devils do not win by merely shutting down other teams' offenses; they themselves score a healthy 67 goals in 20 games en route to the Cup.
Then, in 1995-96, the Devils have a little setback as they fall to .524 on the season and are the second-weakest offense in the League. Stevens falls to 8th in team scoring, but production-wise plummets to 28 points (exactly 70 fewer points than his previous full season... for the same team... and the same coach).
The Devils improve offensive in 1996-97 and go back to being one of the stronger teams in the League, but Stevens does not recover offensively, putting up merely 24 points (11th on the club). The rest of his career plays out like this, offensively speaking.
So, it seems clear that Stevens could have (and under normal circumstances, would have) produced more offensively after the Work Stoppage, so I'm wondering if there was a conscious decision made, with Jacques Lemaire, that Stevens would take an offensive back-seat to Niedermayer? It's just rare to see a player, still strong and in his prime, still in an offensive season (1995-96, somewhat 1996-97), still on a strong team, suddenly plummet in scoring so drastically.