So Bourque or Lidström or Niedermayer (etc.) never "did their job", because they didn't hit people like Stevens? The absolute majority of players ever didn't hit like that, so I guess there's plenty of players not doing their job then. Most, I guess, didn't do their job then.
I would say that Bourque and Lidstrom were better defensemen than Stevens, right? Better positionally, not quite as physical. Bourque of course was physical, but not the bone cruncher Stevens was. This is what Stevens did better than them, it was one trait. Big hits is a lost art. Different defensemen have different styles.
And how do you know there aren't players who want to hurt other guys? I would probably have more respect for Stevens if he actual admitted he wanted to hurt opposing players. Why would he blink at someone and say "you're next!" if he's happy if the guy's getting up next shift scoring on his team? (this is what he said afterwards about the hit in the 03 Cup finals, clip's on YT) That doesn't make a lot of sense. Then he probably hasn't carried out the intimidation game properly, ehhedler thinks.
I am going to go out on a limb and say that most players - if not all - don't want to see a player truly hurt because tomorrow it could be them as well. Stevens and Lindros had a lot of battles and I am sure ON the ice Stevens hated him, but the lines of on the ice and off the ice cross when you see a guy lying there needing to be helped off. I am guessing Stevens had a bigger heart than Philadelphia Eagles fans when they cheered loudly when the hated Michael Irvin was taken off the field on a stretcher.
The guy was intense on the ice and everyone would have wanted him on their team but he did have a family off of it, you know? He had a job to do and he always cranked it up a notch in the playoffs.
As for the whole "you're next" thing, it was directed at Dino in the 1995 Cup final. Look, I liked it. It showed passion. It was in the heat of the moment. I am sure there was chirping going on between them and players say things on the ice at those times. This was 1995, social justice warriors weren't reading lips and demanding apologies from athletes of sports they never watch. There was more passion then. I like the colour on the ice. Phil Esposito of all people doing the throat slit and challenging Mikhailov in the 1972 Summit Series. Hockey was just more fun then, now it is too PC and robotic. Everything is over-analyzed. In 1995 you knew to keep your head up on the ice, it is how you avoided getting hurt. Bobby Orr himself says that when Pat Quinn hit him he'd have been alright had he had his head up.