John Stevens

John A. Stevens (born May 4, 1966) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the assistant coach for the Vegas Golden Knights. He is the former head coach of the Los Angeles Kings and the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL. Stevens was a defenceman for the Flyers and Hartford Whalers during his playing career. He was born in Campbellton, New Brunswick, but grew up in Turkey Point in Norfolk County, Ontario.

Playing career Stevens was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the third round, 47th overall, of the 1984 NHL entry draft. Stevens followed up a junior career with the Oshawa Generals in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) by playing four seasons for the Hershey Bears of the AHL. He was called up to the NHL level at times during the 1986–87 and 1987–88 seasons, playing in a total of 9 games with the Flyers. He was signed by the Hartford Whalers in 1990 and reassigned to the Whalers' AHL team, the Springfield Indians. Stevens was named team captain that year and went on to win the Calder Cup with the team that same year for the franchise's seventh Championship title. With the Indians' franchise moving to Worcester, Massachusetts in 1994, Stevens became the first captain of the successor franchise, the Springfield Falcons, where he played for two additional years.

In 1996, Stevens signed once more with the Flyers, and was named the first captain of its expansion farm team, the Philadelphia Phantoms. He then became the club's second head coach in 2000 when Bill Barber was promoted to the Flyers. During his six-season tenure as coach, the Phantoms made the playoffs four times and won their second Calder Cup title in 2005. Stevens was himself promoted to the Phantoms' parent club as an assistant coach after the 2005–06 season, and on October 22, 2006, was named as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers after Ken Hitchcock was fired.

On June 24, 2010, he was signed to a three-year contract to be an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Kings, joining former Flyers coach Terry Murray as well as former Flyers player Ron Hextall in the Kings organization. In his first season as the head coach of the Kings, he guided the Kings back to the playoffs as the first wild card in the Western Conference, but they were swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round. On November 4, 2018, the Kings fired Stevens after a 4–8–1 start to the 2018–19 season.

He later became assistant coach for the Dallas Stars, a position he left on May 20, 2022. On June 28, 2022, he joined the coaching staff of the Vegas Golden Knights as an assistant coach. He then won a third Stanley Cup on June 13, 2023.

Personal life Stevens grew up in the lakeside village of Turkey Point, Ontario. His three brothers also played hockey, and his brother Larry Stevens played briefly with the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League.

Stevens has two sons who also play hockey. His eldest son, also named John, played high school hockey for Salisbury School in Connecticut and one season with the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the United States Hockey League (USHL) before playing college hockey for the Northeastern University Huskies hockey team. John Jr. signed with the New York Islanders of the NHL after finishing his college career and is currently playing on their AHL affiliate team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. John's younger son, Nolan Stevens, played for the US National Development Team in the USHL, before joining his brother at Northeastern. Nolan Stevens was drafted in the 5th round, 125th overall of the 2016 NHL entry draft by the St. Louis Blues. Stevens resides in Sea Isle City, New Jersey in the summer.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1982–83 Newmarket Flyers OPJHL 48 2 9 11 111 — — — — — 1983–84 Oshawa Generals OHL 70 1 10 11 71 7 0 1 1 6 1984–85 Oshawa Generals OHL 45 2 10 12 61 5 0 2 2 4 1984–85 Hershey Bears AHL 3 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 1985–86 Oshawa Generals OHL 65 1 7 8 146 6 0 2 2 14 1985–86 Kalamazoo Wings IHL 6 0 1 1 8 6 0 3 3 9 1986–87 Hershey Bears AHL 63 1 15 16 131 3 0 0 0 7 1986–87 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 6 0 2 2 14 — — — — — 1987–88 Hershey Bears AHL 59 1 15 16 108 — — — — — 1987–88 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1988–89 Hershey Bears AHL 78 3 13 16 129 12 1 1 2 29 1989–90 Hershey Bears AHL 79 3 10 13 193 — — — — — 1990–91 Springfield Indians AHL 65 0 12 12 139 18 0 6 6 35 1990–91 Hartford Whalers NHL 14 0 1 1 11 — — — — — 1991–92 Springfield Indians AHL 45 1 12 13 73 11 1 3 4 27 1991–92 Hartford Whalers NHL 21 0 4 4 19 — — — — — 1992–93 Springfield Indians AHL 74 1 19 20 111 15 0 1 1 18 1993–94 Springfield Indians AHL 71 3 9 12 85 3 0 0 0 0 1993–94 Hartford Whalers NHL 9 0 3 3 4 — — — — — 1994–95 Springfield Falcons AHL 79 5 15 20 122 — — — — — 1995–96 Springfield Falcons AHL 69 0 19 19 95 10 0 1 1 31 1996–97 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 74 2 18 20 116 10 0 2 2 8 1997–98 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 50 1 9 10 76 20 0 6 6 44 1998–99 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 25 0 1 1 19 — — — — — AHL totals 834 21 167 188 1399 102 2 20 22 199 NHL totals 53 0 10 10 48 — — — — —

Coaching record

NHL Team Year Regular season Postseason G W L OTL Pts Finish W L Win % Result PHI 2006–07 74 21 42 11 (56) 5th in Atlantic — — — Missed playoffs PHI 2007–08 82 42 29 11 95 4th in Atlantic 9 8 Lost in Conference Final (PIT) PHI 2008–09 82 44 27 11 99 third in Atlantic 2 4 Lost in Conference Quarterfinal (PIT) PHI 2009–10 25 13 11 1 (88) (fired) — — — —PHI total 263 120 109 34 338 11 12 2 playoff appearances LAK 2011–12 4 2 2 0 (95) (interim) — — — —LAK total 4 2 2 0 95 LAK 2017–18 82 45 29 8 98 4th in Pacific 0 4 Lost in First Round (VGK) LAK 2018–19 13 4 8 1 (9) (fired) — — — —LAK total 95 49 37 9 107 0 4 1 playoff appearanceTotal 362 171 148 43 385 11 16 3 playoff appearances

AHL Team Year Regular season Postseason G W L T OTL Pts Finish ResultPHI2000–0180363455824th in Mid-AtlanticLost in Division FinalPHI2001–0280332715586third in SouthLost in Conference QuarterfinalPHI2002–0380333368804th in SouthMissed playoffsPHI2003–04804625721011st in EastLost in Division FinalPHI2004–0580482534103second in EastWon Calder CupPHI2005–0680343727776th in SouthMissed playoffsTotal 4802301813325

Awards and records

Awards Player Calder Cup champion (1988, 1991, 1998) AHL All-Star Game (1996)

Coach 2005 – Calder Cup champion (2005) 2007 – Philadelphia Phantoms Hall of Fame inductee 2008 – The Hockey News Coach of the Year Stanley Cup champion (2012, 2014, 2023)

Records Player Scored first goal in Springfield Falcons history (1994) Scored first goal in Philadelphia Phantoms history (1996)

Coach Worst season record in Philadelphia Flyers history (21–42–11 in 2006–07) NHL record for the biggest drop off in points from one season to the next (101 points in the 2005–06 season to 56 points in the 2006–07 season)