#4

"When he goes into the Hockey Hall of Fame,
it should read, 'The toughest guy who ever
played the game.'"
-Devils forward John Madden.

The Rangers/MSG Network has been doing this "11 Days of Messier" thing, leading up to the retiring of the Captain's New York Rangers #11 jersey on January 12, 2006. This got me thinking, what would it take to get a "4 Days of Stevens" for retired New Jersey Devils defenseman Scott Stevens? Well, they must have read this blog, because the New Jersey Devils are retiring his #4 on February 3, 2006 (although I hadn't posted this yet, so what the hell?) On teams that stressed physical play and lacked any true superstars, Captain Scott Stevens meant that meant more to the Devils than Messier meant to the Rangers. I know what you're saying, but hear me out. Obviously, they can't be compared from a scoring standpoint, since one was mostly a center and the other a defenseman, but let's look at what each did for his team while on the ice (the plus/minus ratings). Allow me to break it down.

* Before joining the Rangers, in 12 years with the Edmonton Oilers, Messier won 5 Stanley Cups (one without the Great One) in 12 playoff years, with a +59 rating in the postseason. During his 10 years with New York Rangers, he won 1 Cup and went to the playoffs 5 times, with a -9 postseason rating.

* Before joining the Devils, in 8 years with the Washington Capitals, Stevens did not win a Cup in 8 playoff years, with a -2 postseason rating. During his 13 years with the Devils, he won 3 Cups in 11 playoff years, with a +33 postseason rating.

* Overall, Messier was +210 for his career, while Stevens was a +377.

* They have each won a Conn Smythe Award.

* Messier once verbally guaranteed a win in the playoffs vs. the Devils. Stevens silently guaranteed a Devils playoff series victory by knocking Eric Lindros out and ending his season, and subsequently his career with the Flyers.



* Stevens won the Alka-Seltzer Plus award in 1994. Messier never won this coveted award (although he won the Hart Trophy in 1990 and 1992).

* Messier had a coach named Stevens, and Stevens had a coach named Messier.

Okay, not sure about that last one, but you get the idea. All I'm saying here is that the Rangers were a talented team that would have probably ended their 54 year long Cup drought without Messier. Conversely, the Devils would not have won 3 Cups without Stevens, with his unparalled physical defensive style and space-time-continuum-damaging hitting prowess. Now on February 3rd, we get to give this quintessential Devil his due, as they lift his retired number #4 to the rafters of the Meadowlands Arena, the House that Stevens Built.