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In “The NHL Gave Him a Stanley Cup and Left Him to Rot,” we tell the heartbreaking story of Kevin Stevens, a Stanley Cup champion whose life unraveled after his playing days were over. At his peak, Stevens was one of the NHL’s most dominant power forwards, helping lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cups while becoming one of the league’s biggest stars.
Then everything changed.
A devastating facial injury, years of physical punishment, and battles with addiction sent Stevens down a path few fans ever saw coming. The player who once stood at the top of the hockey world eventually found himself struggling just to survive.
His story exposed a difficult question the sport still wrestles with today.
What happens after the cheering stops?
This wasn’t just the fall of a hockey star.
It was a reminder that championships don’t protect players from the battles waiting after retirement.
👇 Comment below: Does the NHL do enough to support former players after their careers end?
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When the program started there was some help at the start. What was needed was more help and resources after the players would leave.
Happy to hear he finally got that help even if it came from a judge.
The Penguins are my team and while Mario, Sid, Jags, Geno and others have ascended into the annals of hockey greatness Artie is my all time favorite player.
As a recovering alcoholic he later became an inspiration to stay clean. 25 should be hanging in the rafters at PPG.
50 goals and 250 PIM… truly a different era
Thanks for covering, please do Joe Murphy now!
Kevin Stevens' story is more than simply another story of addiction. A severe injury exacerbated an underlying addiction, and Kevin had times where he fell off the wagon, but Kevin Stevens' story is one of redemption. The Players Assistance Program may be flawed, and the system may be broken, but Kevin Stevens came through it on the other side, and did not become a statistic.
Kevin Stevens was on his way to potentially a borderline hall of fame career. He was you can argue, one of the top 3-5 power forwards in hockey at the time. But that devastating facial injury he had in Game 7 of the Patrick Division final against the Islanders when he landed face first to the ice unknowingly was the beginning of the end for him.
Certainly his style of play contributed to injuries also, but there’s always a starting point to things, and that facial injury was that first domino of what was to come. It’s unfortunate he never really (as far as his play and career overall) was able to recapture that confidence and form that made him great at one point. And then the numerous problems he had after his career and even towards the end was sad to see and read about.
I was happy for him when he got into the US hockey hall of fame a couple of years back but more importantly, I’m happy to see he’s doing a lot better in life today a day at a time. Because he easily could’ve continued on that downward spiral and never be heard from again. But sometimes all it takes is one chance, forced on you by others or not to get yourself back on track. And he needed that chance more than he realized.