New Jersey Devils: Why Tie Domi is wrong about Scott Stevens

Since we have no other hockey related news to distract us, Tie Domi calling out Scott Stevens made headlines. The former Toronto Maple Leafs fighter is wrong about the former New Jersey Devils captain.

Las Vegas might be closed, but that doesn’t mean a fight only worthy for the Vegas Strip isn’t gearing up. Former Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer Tie Domi recently called three-time Stanley Cup champion, Hockey Hall of Famer, and former New Jersey Devils captain Scott Stevens “the biggest phony I ever played against ”.

Domi backed up his claim by saying although Stevens would carry out devastating hits, he rarely dropped the gloves when Domi challenged him. Domi also said most of Stevens’ most devastating blows came when his opponents were most vulnerable, making them easy targets.

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If the NHL were playing like normal one retired player calling out another would barely make the home page of the NHL’s website. Honestly, think of the last time Tie Domi seemed relevant before this. Since there literally is no other hockey action going on this seems like the biggest story happening in the sport in a while.

Not only is this whole comment war being brought out of proportion, Domi arguably is wrong in his assessment. Maybe I’m a bit biased towards my former captain since I’m a Devils fan, but how can Stevens “lack” of fighting be a fair criticism of his play.

As much as I hate calling it “the trap”, think of the style of play the Devils played during their Stanley Cup years. They were built around suffocating defense. Even though they weren’t afraid to get physical, they weren’t fighters. Okay, they weren’t fighters compared to the “Broad Street Bullies” and “Big Bad Bruins” teams that famously won Stanley Cups in the 1970s, but they still fought.

With fighting on the decline over hockey for the past few decades, lack of fighting majors seems like an odd critique for Stevens. Stevens was recorded with 101 fighting majors over his career. Tie Domi remains the resident expert on the subject with an NHL record 270 fighting majors.

Stevens carved out a unique role during his NHL career. As a stay at home defenseman, he was very physical, but mostly in legal body hits. Perhaps the most stunning image of his career, where he more or less sent Eric Lindros into early retirement, was a clean hit at the time. Stevens wasn’t phony, he was just a much cleaner player with his physicality than Domi.

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Of course, Domi is saying this all now from the comfort of a podcast studio and not on the ice. The timing seems odd, but maybe it’s all out of boredom. Anyway, don’t expect a Matthew Tkachuk versus Zack Kassian type rivalry to come out of this anti-climactic chirping.

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