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John Stevens (ice hockey)

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John Stevens
Stevens in 2012
Born (1966-05-04) May 4, 1966 (age 58)
Campbellton, New Brunswick, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Philadelphia Flyers
Hartford Whalers
Current NHL coach Vegas Golden Knights (Assistant)
Coached for Philadelphia Flyers
Los Angeles Kings
Dallas Stars (Assistant)
NHL draft 47th overall, 1984
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 1986–1999
Coaching career 1999–present

John A. Stevens (born May 4, 1966) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is an assistant coach of the Vegas Golden Knights. He is the former head coach of the Los Angeles Kings and the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Stevens was a defenceman for the Flyers and Hartford Whalers during his playing career. Stevens was born in Campbellton, New Brunswick, but grew up in Turkey Point in Norfolk County, Ontario.

Playing career

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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 in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) 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.[1] The Phantoms won their first Calder Cup in his second season as captain.[1]

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

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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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[2] 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.[3][2]

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.[1]

During the 2011–12 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 re-signed with Kings and was promoted to associate head coach.

On April 23, 2017, Stevens was named the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings.[4] In his first season as the head coach of the Kings, he guided the Kings back to the playoffs as the first wild card in the Western Conference, but they were swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round. On November 4, 2018, the Kings fired Stevens after a 4–8–1 start to the 2018–19 season.[5][6]

He later became Assistant Coach for the Dallas Stars, a position he left on May 20, 2022. He later joined the coaching staff of the Vegas Golden Knights, as an assistant coach, which was announced on June 28, 2022. He then won a third Stanley Cup on June 13, 2023.

Personal life

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Stevens grew up in the lakeside village of Turkey Point, Ontario. His three brothers also played hockey, and his brother Larry Stevens played briefly with the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League.[7]

Stevens has two sons who also play hockey. His eldest son, also named John, played high school hockey for Salisbury School in Connecticut and one season with the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the United States Hockey League (USHL) before playing college hockey for the Northeastern University Huskies hockey team. John Jr. signed with the New York Islanders of the NHL after finishing his college career and is currently playing on their AHL affiliate team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.[8] John's younger son, Nolan Stevens, played for the US National Development Team in the USHL, before joining his brother at Northeastern. Nolan was drafted in the 5th round, 125th overall of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the St. Louis Blues.[9] Stevens resides in Sea Isle City, New Jersey in the summer.[10]

Career statistics

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1982–83 Newmarket Flyers OPJHL 48 2 9 11 111 — — — — —
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 — — — — —
AHL totals 834 21 167 188 1399 102 2 20 22 199
NHL totals 53 0 10 10 48 — — — — —

Coaching record

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NHL

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Team Year Regular season Postseason
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 Conference Finals (PIT)
PHI 2008–09 82 44 27 11 99 3rd in Atlantic 2 4 .333 Lost in Conference Quarterfinals (PIT)
PHI 2009–10 25 13 11 1 (88) (fired) — — — —
PHI total 263 120 109 34 338   11 12 .478 2 playoff appearances
LAK 2011–12 4 2 2 0 (95) (interim) — — — —
LAK total 4 2 2 0 95   –  
LAK 2017–18 82 45 29 8 98 4th in Pacific 0 4 .000 Lost in First Round (VGK)
LAK 2018–19 13 4 8 1 (9) (fired) — — — —
LAK total 95 49 37 9 107   0 4 .000 1 playoff appearance
Total 362 171 148 43 385 11 16 .407 3 playoff appearances

AHL

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Team Year Regular season Postseason
G W L T OTL Pts Finish Result
PHI 2000–01 80 36 34 5 5 82 4th in Mid-Atlantic Lost in Division Finals
PHI 2001–02 80 33 27 15 5 86 3rd in South Lost in Conference Quarterfinals
PHI 2002–03 80 33 33 6 8 80 4th in South Missed playoffs
PHI 2003–04 80 46 25 7 2 101 1st in East Lost in Division Finals
PHI 2004–05 80 48 25 3 4 103 2nd in East Won Calder Cup
PHI 2005–06 80 34 37 2 7 77 6th in South Missed playoffs
Total 480 230 181 33 25

Awards and records

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Awards

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Player
Coach

Records

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Player
Coach
  • Worst season record in Philadelphia Flyers history (21–42–11 in 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)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "John Stevens". ahlhalloffame.com. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Boruk, John (October 5, 2017). "Kings coach John Stevens reflects on Flyers' tenure, growth as leader". nbcsports.com. El Segundo, Calif. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  3. ^ Change Up: Flyers Replace Stevens With Laviolette
  4. ^ "John Stevens is the New Head Coach of the LA Kings". NHL.com. NHL Enterprise, L.P. April 23, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  5. ^ Greenspan, Dan (November 4, 2018). "Stevens fired as coach of Kings, Desjardins named replacement". NHL.com. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  6. ^ "Willie Desjardins Named Head Coach; John Stevens Relieved of His Duties". NHL.com. November 4, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  7. ^ "Larry Stevens". hockeydb.com. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  8. ^ Fuehring, Alan (November 24, 2017). "STEVENS THANKFUL FOR LIFE IN A HOCKEY FAMILY". theahl.com. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  9. ^ "Blues Select 8 Players at 2016 NHL Draft". NHL.com. Buffalo: St. Louis Blues. June 25, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  10. ^ Zupke, Curtis (December 17, 2017). "John Stevens returns to Philadelphia, where his coaching career began". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  11. ^ "Phantoms Hockey - STEVENS NAMED TO PHANTOMS HALL OF FAME". Archived from the original on August 14, 2007.
  12. ^ "Philadelphia Flyers - News: Stevens Honored by the Hockey News - 07/21/2008". Archived from the original on July 30, 2008.
[edit]
Sporting positions
Preceded by Head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers
2006–2009 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Los Angeles Kings
(interim)
2011 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Los Angeles Kings
2017–2018 		Succeeded by
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