Kevin Stevens

Early career

While attending Silver Lake Regional High School in Kingston, Massachusetts, Kevin Stevens played both hockey and baseball. He was invited to try out for both the Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies; however, admitting that he wasn't a great hitter in baseball, he decided to play hockey instead. Stevens accepted a full scholarship to play hockey for Boston College, and was drafted in the sixth round (108th overall) in the 1983 NHL draft by the Los Angeles Kings. Several months later, his rights would be traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Anders Håkansson, a left winger from Sweden who had recently been traded to the Penguins along with Ron Meighan from the Minnesota North Stars for the Penguins' first round pick of the 1983 draft (Brian Lawton).

Upon graduating from Boston College in 1987, Stevens joined the U.S. National Team and represented the US at the 1987 World Championships and at the 1988 Winter Olympics. Stevens' play steadily improved during his time with the team and in 1987-88 he finished with 45 points in 44 games.

NHL career

After a year of jumping back and forth from the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League (IHL), Stevens became one of the top left wingers and power forwards in the league over the next four seasons. He had four-straight seasons of at least 40 goals and 80 points from 1990–94 and surpassed 50 goals and 100 points in back to back seasons of 1991–92 and 1992–93. In the 1991–92 NHL season, Stevens became only the 3rd person in NHL history to outscore Wayne Gretzky in the regular Season, though he still finished 2nd in points to teammate Mario Lemieux. His 123 points that year also set a record for the most points by an American-born player and a Left Wing in one season. During the Pittsburgh Penguins back-to-back Stanley Cup seasons of 1990–91 and 1991–92, Stevens was the only Penguin to play in every regular season and playoff game. He's also one of four NHL players to have accumulated more than 50 goals and at least 200 PIM in a season, with the others are Keith Tkachuk, Brendan Shanahan and Gary Roberts. His 17 goals during the 90–91 Playoffs are tied for 4th all-time (only Jari Kurri and Reggie Leach with 19 and Joe Sakic with 18 have surpassed that mark). He scored 13 more in the 91–92 postseason.

On May 21, 1992, during game 3 of the Prince of Wales Conference Final against the Boston Bruins, Stevens became only the 25th player in NHL history to score 3 goals in a single period. Scoring a hat trick in the first period, he would add one more goal before the end of the game. The Penguins defeated the Bruins 5–1, Bryan Trottier with the other goal. The Penguins went on to win the series, sweeping the Bruins and subsequently sweeping the Chicago Blackhawks to win their second straight Stanley Cup.

One year later, on May 14, 1993, the Penguins were playing the New York Islanders in game seven of the Patrick Division Finals. Early in the first period, Stevens skated in and checked Islanders defenseman Rich Pilon, but hit Pilon's visor with so much force that it knocked him unconscious. He landed face first on the ice; having been knocked unconscious, he was unable to soften the blow when he landed. Stevens shattered most of the bones in his face and required extensive reconstructive surgery. Doctors cut an incision below his hairline from ear-to-ear, which was later closed with over 100 stitches, peeled back his skin and reassembled the bones in Stevens' face with the use of metal plates. Stevens came back to have one more strong season for the Penguins in 1993–94 (41 goals, 47 assists), before being traded the next year.

Stevens was sent to the Boston Bruins in 1995 along with Shawn McEachern for Glen Murray and Bryan Smolinski. After being traded from the Penguins, Stevens never again reached the success that he had while in Pittsburgh. After "disappointing" in Boston with 23 points in 41 games, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. After a dismal season, he was traded to the New York Rangers in 1997, where he experienced several solid seasons, but failed to match the expectations levied on him from his marked success playing with Mario Lemieux and the Penguins.

During the 1999–2000 season, Stevens would struggle in his NHL career. Not only did he rarely see the ice during this season, but after a game against the St. Louis Blues, he was caught in an East St. Louis, Illinois motel with a prostitute and crack cocaine. After this event, Stevens entered the NHL Substance Abuse Program.

After being released from the program, he played a brief stint with the Philadelphia Flyers before being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a second time. After one decent season and another season where he rarely received playing time, he retired from the NHL in 2002.

Post-NHL

On September 1, 2005, Stevens began his NHL career off the ice as he was hired by the Pittsburgh Penguins as a talent scout. In 2011, Stevens left the Pittsburgh Penguins organization as a pro scout to spend more time with his family. He coaches youth hockey including a traveling team in the Boston area.

In June 2015, his son, Luke Stevens, was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes 5th round, 126th overall pick. Luke entered his senior year of high school in September 2015 and has signed a letter of intent to play college hockey at Yale for the 2016-2017 season.

In May 2016, Stevens and a co-defendant were charged with conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute oxycodone.

Awards and honors

Transactions