John Stevens (ice hockey)

John Stevens
Stevens in 2012
Born	May 4, 1966 Campbellton, NB, CAN
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Philadelphia Flyers Hartford Whalers
NHL Draft	47th overall, 1984 Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career	1986–1999

John A. Stevens (born May 4, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and is a former head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently the associate head coach for the Los Angeles Kings. Stevens was born in Campbellton, New Brunswick, but grew up in Turkey Point in Norfolk County, Ontario.

Playing career

Stevens was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the third round, 47th overall, of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. Stevens followed up a junior career with the Oshawa Generals by playing four seasons for the Hershey Bears of the AHL. He was called up to the NHL level at times during the 1986–87 and 1987–88 seasons, playing in a total of 9 games with the Flyers. He was signed by the Hartford Whalers in 1990 and reassigned to the Whalers' AHL team, the Springfield Indians. Stevens was named team captain that year and went on to win the Calder Cup with the team that same year for the franchise's seventh Championship title. With the Indians' franchise moving to Worcester, Massachusetts in 1994, Stevens became the first captain of the successor franchise, the Springfield Falcons, where he played for two additional years.

In 1996, Stevens signed once more with the Flyers, and was named the first captain of its expansion farm team, the Philadelphia Phantoms. The Phantoms won their first Calder Cup in his second season as captain.

Stevens played in 53 NHL games for the Flyers and the Whalers scoring no goals, ten assists and recording 48 penalty minutes. In the AHL, he played in 834 games, scoring 20 goals and 166 assists for 186 points. Ironically, given his low scoring output as a defensive defenceman, Stevens scored the first goals in franchise history for both the Falcons and the Phantoms.

Coaching career

John Stevens
Born	May 4, 1966 Campbellton, NB, CAN
Current position	Assistant Coach
Current team	Los Angeles Kings
Previous team(s)	Philadelphia Flyers Philadelphia Phantoms
Stanley Cup wins	2
Years as NHL player	1984–85 – 1998–99
Years as a coach	1999–present
Years as an NHL coach	2006–present
Years with current team	2010–present

Stevens was forced to retire as a player in 1999 due to a career-ending eye injury but remained with the Phantoms as an assistant coach. He then became the club's second head coach in 2000 when Bill Barber was promoted to the Flyers. During his six season tenure as coach, the Phantoms made the playoffs four times and won their second Calder Cup title in 2005. Stevens was himself promoted to the Phantoms' parent club as an assistant coach after the 2005–06 season, and on October 22, 2006, was named as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers after Ken Hitchcock was fired. On October 26, Stevens coached his first NHL game, a 3–2 win over the Florida Panthers. On November 20, the Flyers announced that they had signed Stevens to a 2-year contract.

His first season with the Flyers saw his team set a franchise record for consecutive losses (10 games) and finish the 2006–07 season with the club's worst record in its 40-year history. The Flyers set an NHL record for the biggest drop off in points from one season to the next – 101 points in the 2005–06 season to 56 points in the 2006–07 season for lowest point total in the league.

However, as stunning as their fall from grace was the previous season, Stevens guided the Flyers to an immediate renaissance in 2007–08. The Flyers won 42 games and amassed 95 points in the regular season under Stevens's guidance. In the playoffs, the Flyers beat the Washington Capitals in the first round and upset the top-seeded Montreal Canadiens in the second round before falling to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals. For this, The Hockey News honored Stevens with their Coach of the Year award.

Stevens was fired by the Flyers on December 4, 2009, after a 13–11–1 start and with a team expected to be a Stanley Cup favorite sitting in 10th place in the Eastern Conference.^[1]

On June 24, 2010, he was signed to a three-year contract to be an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Kings, joining former Flyers coach Terry Murray as well as former Flyers player Ron Hextall in the Kings organization.

During the 2011–12 NHL season, after Kings coach Terry Murray was fired, Stevens acted as interim head coach for 4 games before Darryl Sutter took over. He then returned to his post as Assistant Coach, a position he held when the Kings won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history at the season's end.

The Kings again won the Stanley Cup in 2014 with Stevens as an assistant behind the bench. On June 18, 2014, he resigned with Kings and was promoted to associate head coach.

Personal

John grew up in the lakeside village of Turkey Point in a typical hockey family. His three brothers also played hockey and his brother Larry Stevens, was a notable player in the OHL playing with the Sudbury Wolves. John's son, also named John, played hockey for Salisbury School in Connecticut, then in the USHL and now plays for the Northeastern Huskies hockey team in Boston, Massachusetts, along with his younger brother Nolan. Stevens resides in Sea Isle City, New Jersey in the summer.

Awards

• 1988 – Calder Cup Hershey Bears (Player)
• 1991 – Calder Cup Springfield Indians (Player, Team Captain)
• 1996 – AHL All-Star Game (Player)
• 1998 – Calder Cup Philadelphia Phantoms (Player; Team Captain)
• 2005 – Calder Cup Philadelphia Phantoms (Head Coach)
• 2007 – Philadelphia Phantoms Hall of Fame inductee
• 2008 – The Hockey News Coach of the Year
• 2012 - Stanley Cup "Los Angeles Kings" (Assistant Coach)
• 2014 - Stanley Cup "Los Angeles Kings" (Assistant Coach)

Records

• 1994 – Scored first goal in Springfield Falcons history
• 1996 – Scored first goal in Philadelphia Phantoms history
• 2006 – Most consecutive losses in Philadelphia Flyers history (10) (Head Coach)
• 2006–07 – Worst season record in Philadelphia Flyers history (Head Coach)
• 2006–07 – NHL record for the biggest drop off in points from one season to the next (101 points in the 2005–06 season to 56 points in the 2006–07 season) (Head Coach)
• 2008 – Tied 2006 record of most consecutive losses in Philadelphia Flyers history (10) (Head Coach)

Career statistics

Playing statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1983–84	Oshawa Generals	OHL		70	1	10	11	71		7	0	1	1	6
1984–85	Oshawa Generals	OHL		45	2	10	12	61		5	0	2	2	4
1984–85	Hershey Bears	AHL		3	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
1985–86	Oshawa Generals	OHL		65	1	7	8	146		6	0	2	2	14
1985–86	Kalamazoo Wings	IHL		6	0	1	1	8		6	0	3	3	9
1986–87	Hershey Bears	AHL		63	1	15	16	131		3	0	0	0	7
1986–87	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		6	0	2	2	14		—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Hershey Bears	AHL		59	1	15	16	108		—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		3	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Hershey Bears	AHL		78	3	13	16	129		12	1	1	2	29
1989–90	Hershey Bears	AHL		79	3	10	13	193		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	Springfield Indians	AHL		65	0	12	12	139		18	0	6	6	35
1990–91	Hartford Whalers	NHL		14	0	1	1	11		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Springfield Indians	AHL		45	1	12	13	73		11	1	3	4	27
1991–92	Hartford Whalers	NHL		21	0	4	4	19		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	Springfield Indians	AHL		74	1	19	20	111		15	0	1	1	18
1993–94	Springfield Indians	AHL		71	3	9	12	85		3	0	0	0	0
1993–94	Hartford Whalers	NHL		9	0	3	3	4		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Springfield Falcons	AHL		79	5	15	20	122		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Springfield Falcons	AHL		69	0	19	19	95		10	0	1	1	31
1996–97	Philadelphia Phantoms	AHL		74	2	18	20	116		10	0	2	2	8
1997–98	Philadelphia Phantoms	AHL		50	1	9	10	76		20	0	6	6	44
1998–99	Philadelphia Phantoms	AHL		25	0	1	1	19		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				53	0	10	10	48		—	—	—	—	—
AHL totals				834	21	167	188	1399		102	2	20	22	199

Coaching statistics

AHL

Team	Year	Regular season							Post season
		G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Finish	Result
PHI	2000–01	80	36	34	5	5	82	4th in Mid-Atlantic	lost in second round (2–4) to WBS
PHI	2001–02	80	33	27	15	5	86	3rd in South	lost in first round (0–3) to SYR
PHI	2002–03	80	33	33	6	8	80	4th in South	DNQ
PHI	2003–04	80	46	25	7	2	101	1st in East	lost in second round (2–4) to WBS
PHI	2004–05	80	48	25	3	4	103	2nd in East	Calder Cup (4–0) over CHI
PHI	2005–06	80	34	37	2	7	77	6th in South	DNQ
Total		480	230	181	33	25

NHL

Team	Year	Regular Season							Post Season
		G	W	L	OTL	Pts	Finish	W	L	Win %	Result
PHI	2006–07	74	21	42	11	(56)	5th in Atlantic	-	-	-	Missed Playoffs
PHI	2007–08	82	42	29	11	95	4th in Atlantic	9	8	.529	Lost In Third Round (PIT)
PHI	2008–09	82	44	27	11	99	3rd in Atlantic	2	4	.333	Lost In First Round (PIT)
PHI	2009–10	25	13	11	1	(88)	3rd in Atlantic	-	-	-	Fired Mid-Season
LA	2011–12	4	2	2	0	(95)	2nd in Pacific	-	-	-	(Interim Coach)
Total		267	122	111	34	278	0 Division Championships	11	12	.478	0 Stanley Cups 2 Playoff Appearances

References

1. Change Up: Flyers Replace Stevens With Laviolette

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database