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Skull and crossbones Reason for Stevens' Smythe selection disturbing
Posted: Tuesday June 13, 2000 03:29 PM
Is there anyone else who is a little uneasy that defenseman Scott Stevens of the championship New Jersey Devils was the Conn Smythe trophy winner, the Most Valuable Player, of the recent Stanley Cup playoffs? Not that he didn't deserve it, because he was the defensive heart of a defensive-minded team ... but is anyone else uneasy about the statistic that most voters cited when they made Stevens their pick? He is the first MVP I can remember in any sport who was selected for total body count, rather than goals or assists or touchdowns or home runs in the bottom of the ninth. His most impressive credential was that he put five players from the opposition out of action during the long Stanley Cup tournament, capped by a big hit that probably sent marquee star Eric Lindros of the Philadelphia Flyers into retirement with a final concussion. The Devils captain won the award the way Wyatt Earp won the West. Or Eddie Rickenbacker came back from World War I as a hero. He was the gunslinger, the ace, with five certified kills. Maybe he should have painted a little skull and crossbones on his helmet for each body helped to the trainer's room. Injury is a fact of life in all sports, chances improved when a player from the other team goes out of the lineup. The Lakers, for example, are not the same team with Kobe Bryant on the bench. But this is the first time I can remember a player being celebrated for causing injury to the other side. I'm not saying Stevens did anything illegal, because the hits all seemed fair and square. I'm not saying the voters did anything wrong because he was the dominant player on the dominant team. I just wonder about the win-at-all-costs message. Sports Illustrated senior writer Leigh Montville appears regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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