Now in the 20th season of his Hall of Fame career, Scott Stevens has never finished the year a minus player. That incredible badge of hockey honor is in jeopardy.
The Devil captain stands minus-8 on this campaign, which nears the one-third mark tomorrow afternoon when Washington invades the Meadowlands. He made up a bit of ground by going plus-1 in Wednesday’s 2-1 victory in Montreal that stretched New Jersey’s unbeaten streak to three games.
It has long been the case that as the captain goes, so go the Devils. He won the Conn Smythe in the 2000 playoffs, when the Devils won the Cup. And in the Devils’ recent 12-game slide, in which they won only twice, Stevens was a disturbing minus-11, the team’s worst figure during that stretch.
The slide was such that speculation arises that Stevens was hiding an injury.
Stevens entered this season plus-357 lifetime and is coming off a plus-40 year that led his backline teammates. A dive of minus-11 in 12 games is remarkable.
One notion, however, can be dismissed. It seems preposterous that there is any correlation between Stevens’ minus nosedive, which actually began Nov. 13, and the three-year, $22.5 million contract extension he signed three days later.
The Post has confirmed that Stevens’ deal, which will keep him a Devil past his 41st birthday, includes a no-trade clause. There is a time-frame in which Stevens could be dealt, but only with his permission.
Stevens’ base salary will be $6.25 million for each of the next three seasons after he completes this final year of his current deal at $4.2 million. The third year of the deal is also guaranteed, not an option as some thought.
In addition, Stevens will earn 725G each year that will be deferred until after the contract expires. The 37-year-old also has significant, easily-reached bonuses that bring his real-money compensation, as figured by the Players Association, to some $7.5 million per season.
Stevens’ extension nearly duplicates the five-year version signed in October by Martin Brodeur. Brodeur’s deal is the one that has the Players Association investigating Lou Lamoriello and Brodeur’s attorney, Susan Ciallella, non-certified by the PA, to determine if Lamoriello and Ciallella violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement by negotiating Brodeur’s deal.