Mike Huss

"The Fuss
According to Huss"

St. Louis Sports Online
lead columnist and host of "Sportstalk" on WGNU AM-920 can be heard online at www.wgnu.net--time:
(6:00-7:00 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays)

E-mail Mike at:
hussme@msn.com

Read It and Weep

posted May 27

The New Jersey Devils will be hosting the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim at the Meadowlands in Game One of the 2003 National Hockey League Stanley Cup Finals.

The Devils have been the benchmark of success in the NHL's Eastern Conference. This will be New Jersey's fourth appearance in the Cup Finals: the third time in four years. General Manager Lou Lamorello is considered one of the finest General Managers in the NHL. He has assembled a solid squad that uses defense and goaltending as its backbone.

Anchoring that defensive unit is their 39 year-old Captain: Scott Stevens. A future Hall of Famer, Stevens has played an average of 77 games per season in his career with a career plus/minus rating of +390. A fierce and physical presence on the ice, #4 is considered one of the keys for the Devils in their upcoming quest for the Cup. Kevin Allen of the USA Today writes about Scott Stevens on May 26, 2003: "Lean on me: Look for him to make a statement with a big hit early in this series. Even at this stage of his career, Stevens is the Devils' flag carrier. They can feed off his energy The Devils want to use Stevens' physical presence against the smallish Ducks. He can play the role of a greeter at the blue line, and he's not as pleasant about it as the Wal-Mart greeters."

When the Devils began building their Stanley Cup roster, it all started with Scott Stevens.

 

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Meanwhile 1200 miles west, it was one of the darkest days of the St. Louis Blues franchise. A day, even over a decade later, the Blues have not yet recovered from.

It's very fashionable for Gateway City hockey fans to point to the departure of some of their heroes of the past as the main reason(s) for the Blues' postseason failures. The most vocal group surrounds the future Hall of Famer: Winger Brett Hull. Even though he left the Gateway City in 1998, the pro and con Hull gangs usually get together for a spitting contest at least once or twice a year and perhaps one more time in the playoffs. Another local fan favorite is Detroit winger Brendan Shanahan. There are still many groupies who curse the day when then-General Manager and Coach Mike Keenan sentenced the former #19 to the Siberia of Hartford for Chris Pronger. (Naturally no one in our town was thrilled to see Shanahan return to the division: much less to the hated Detroit Red Wings when the Whalers traded him to Motown after one season.) There are legions of fans that are still in denial after the 1995 trade of Goaltender Curtis Joseph to Edmonton.

But in the end, even had the Blues kept Hull and/or Shanahan and/or Joseph, the team would probably have not significantly improved their on-ice results. As talented as the Golden One and Shanny are, Detroit and Dallas recognized their impact value. You cannot build a team around either Hull or Shanahan: although each player is a vital, important, and valuable component to round out a Stanley Cup Champion squad.

However, Stevens was different than Hull and Shanahan. #4 was to the Blues of the 1990's as Steve Carlton was to the Cardinals during the 1970's. When August Busch, Jr. traded Carlton to Philadelphia during the winter of 1972, the Cardinals lost out on a few 1970's post-season chances. As Stevens continued to log minutes in the Meadowlands, the Blues likely missed an opportunity for one or more Stanley Cup Championships.

#4 is the type of player that you can build a champion around. Lamorello proved it when he acquired Stevens in the summer of 1991. Stevens continues to prove it into the twenty-first century. #4 is of the same mold as Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic, and Derian Hatcher. These players who not only lead: but they set an example for the other players to follow on and off the ice. These players are in charge. They deserve and command respect.

Scott Stevens' only season is the Gateway City was a memorable one in Blues lore. St. Louis finished the regular season with 105 points and an overall record of 47-22-11. Stevens served as the captain of that squad playing in 78 games, scoring 5 goals with 44 assists and logging a plus/minus rating of +23 while keeping the locker room in line.

The Minnesota North Stars eliminated the Blues in the second round of the spring 2001 playoffs. Those Stars would advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, only to lose to Pittsburgh. St. Louis, who enjoyed one of their best seasons, had to regroup and rebound.

In the early 1990's, the first George Bush was in the White House, Anheuser-Busch owned the Cardinals and the Rams were still in Los Angeles. The Blues' brass back then was CEO Mike Shanahan, team president Jack Quinn and General Manager Ronald Caron. Brian Sutter was the Head Coach. The Blues were somewhat of a renegade bunch in that era. St. Louis was offering free agent contracts freely. Including one to Stevens: a Washington Capitol free agent that would cost St. Louis five first-round draft choices.

At their 5700 Oakland Avenue offices, the executives of the hockey club identified the next free agent that could take the Blues to the next level: New Jersey winger Brendan Shanahan. There was one catch, though. St. Louis and New Jersey had to either agree on compensation for Shanahan, or the matter would be turned over to an arbitrator.

However, not all members of the Blues brain thrust agreed with the Shanny strategy. The General Manager warned his colleagues of the danger of signing Shanahan as a free agent. If the Devils would not agree on compensation, an NHL chosen arbitrator would make the final ruling. That final decision would be out of St. Louis' control. An NHL appointed arbitrator would make the final call on compensation. With the Blues' renegade image, this could provide the league a golden opportunity to instill punitive damage for running up the salary structure. The GM felt the risk was too great.

But he was outvoted. While the General Manager was on vacation in Canada, the Head Coach with the approval of the team President and CEO signed Brendan Shanahan to a free agent offer sheet. Both teams could not agree on compensation so the matter was sent to an NHL arbitrator for a final ruling. The Blues reportedly offered the Devils goaltender Joseph and center Rod Brind'amour. The Devils demanded Scott Stevens.

Just like Judge Judy, the arbitrator's decision is final. Judge Houston ruled that Stevens goes to New Jersey while Shanahan joins the Blues. The Blues were shocked and the local hockey crowd screamed that the fix was in. Sutter would take the fall a year later for losing Stevens but the damage was already done. To date it has not been fixed. A few years later, led by their previous President, the Blues tried to sign Stevens to another high-priced free agency contract for the sole purpose of running up the New Jersey payroll. Unfortunately, there were some unshreaded documents found (after that former President was relieved of his duties) and the Blues were charged with tampering by the NHL. The ironic result: a few more draft choices head to New Jersey for Scott Stevens.

St. Louis would not earn 100 points for the next eight seasons. The Blues CEO office went from Mike Shanahan to Jack Quinn to Jerry Ritter then to Mark Sauer. The line of General Managers went from Caron to Mike Keenan back to Caron over to Larry Pleau. The Head Coaching slot went from Brian Sutter to Bob Plager to Bob Berry to Keenan back to Jimmy Roberts then to Joel Quenneville. Despite one Western Conference Finals appearance and one President's Cup, the Blues never advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Meanwhile the Stevens-led Devils are back in the finals for the fourth time in twelve years. Lamorello still runs and controls the New Jersey franchise. Stevens carried the Cup on the Meadowlands ice the first time in June 1995. New Jersey won their second Cup in 2000 and lost in seven games to Colorado in the 2001 Finals. Meanwhile, the 2003 Devils are considered favorites for the third Cup visit to the East Rutherford, New Jersey.

For the record, the Devils, who originated in Kansas City and then relocated to Denver before landing in New Jersey entered the NHL ten seasons after the Blues were admitted.

Great Scott! The results speak for themselves loud and clear: and they speak volumes.

The New Jersey Devils are in the Stanley Cup Finals-AGAIN.

The St. Louis Blues are thirty days into their summer vacation: missing out of the later rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs-AGAIN.

It all started with Scott Stevens.

And the Blues are still paying the price.