Personifying the team's defence-first mentality, he captained the Devils to four Stanley Cup Finals appearances in nine years, winning three of them.

He did not have a negative plus/minus in any of his 22 NHL seasons and had the most penalty minutes of any player enshrined in the Hall of Fame until Chris Chelios was inducted in 2013.

[6][7] Stevens attended Eastwood Collegiate Institute, where he played middle linebacker on the school's Canadian football team.

[10] Stevens and Shaw were an integral part of the Rangers' defence, playing in every game of the season en route to the team's Memorial Cup victory.

Due to injuries to other players during training camp, Stevens made the team at age 18 and never played a game in the minor leagues.

[15] During this period, Stevens learned from veterans Rod Langway and defensive linemate Brian Engblom on the finer points of playing defence.

[16] Head coach Bryan Murray also helped calm the fiery young Stevens, who would learn to fight less and play harder.

[3] Stevens would lead all Capitals defencemen in scoring for the first time, finishing the year with 21 goals and 44 assists,[17] and earned the team's Fan Favorite Award.

[3] Despite missing three games with a broken right index finger, an injury he suffered against the Islanders, Stevens would finish the year third on the team in scoring with 61 points; his 51 assists were also good enough for second on the Capitals.

[21] He ended up finishing second behind Boston Bruins defenceman Ray Bourque in the voting for the James Norris Memorial Trophy.

[21] The Capitals won the Patrick Division in the 1988–89 season, and Stevens' 68 points (including a team-leading 61 assists) led Caps defencemen.

[18][33] He won the NHL Plus-Minus Award, finishing with a +53; only Vladimir Konstantinov has led the league with a higher plus/minus rating since Stevens' win.

Officials from the St. Louis Blues discussed a return to the team with him, and persuaded him to sign an offer sheet worth $17 million over four years on July 4, 1994.

However, the Devils later found out Stevens had heard from St. Louis management before the free agency period began, which was illegal under NHL policy.

[38] The Devils finished fifth in the conference, and advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they swept the heavily favoured Detroit Red Wings to win the franchise's first championship.

[43] Stevens voiced the team's disappointment, saying, "After winning the Cup, you expect to definitely be in the playoffs the next year ... Maybe it was just a wakeup call to get back on track.

"[44] Stevens started the 1996–97 season with a one-game suspension due to high-sticking penalty against Igor Larionov, which drew blood.

[3] However, the team returned to a solid style of play and finished the season atop the Atlantic Division, though they would be eliminated in the playoffs once again by the Hudson River rival New York Rangers.

[49] The Devils made several changes before the 1998–99 season, including the hiring of Robbie Ftorek as head coach to replace Jacques Lemaire.

[50] The team continued its focus on defence, as the solid corps of Stevens, Daneyko and Niedermayer finished with plus-minuses of +29, +27 and +26 respectively.

[3] After finishing the season in fourth place in the conference, the Devils swept the Florida Panthers and defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games.

[53] During the first period, Flyers star centre Eric Lindros was skating alone through the neutral zone with his head down, when Stevens hit him with a shoulder knocking him unconscious and giving him another concussion.

Stevens and Rafalski were tasked with the responsibility of shutting down Dallas' scoring line of Mike Modano, Brett Hull and Joe Nieuwendyk.

Stevens earned an assist on Jason Arnott's Cup-winning goal, and he won the Conn Smythe Trophy for his leadership role on the team.

[53] During the 2000–01 NHL season, led by Patrik Eliáš' franchise record of 96 points and Alexander Mogilny's team-leading 43 goals, the team finished first in the conference.

[59] The Devils played well in the playoffs, eliminating Boston, Tampa Bay and Ottawa to face the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the Finals.

[65] Despite the play of Stevens, Martin Brodeur, Jamie Langenbrunner and Jeff Friesen, the Conn Smythe Trophy went to Ducks goaltender Jean-Sébastien Giguère.

[78] Later on in his career, he mentored the younger Devils defencemen like Colin White and Brian Rafalski, who was Stevens' defensive linemate.

He has been accused by some of deliberately attempting to injure opponents, while others counter that his hits were legal for the era in which he played and only appeared malicious due to their ferocity.

[88] In May 1990, while playing for the Capitals, Stevens was accused of participating in the rape of a 17-year-old girl outside a bar, alongside teammates Dino Ciccarelli, Geoff Courtnall, and Neil Sheehy.