Steve Kasper

Stephen Neil Kasper (born September 28, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played thirteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning. Kasper won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as top defensive forward during his second season in the NHL. He moved into coaching following his playing career, serving as the Bruins' head coach during the 1995–96 and 1996–97 seasons.

He has since coached in European leagues, minor leagues and currently is the head coach of Kent Hills School.

Playing career

Early years Kasper grew up in the Montreal area in a small town called Saint-Lambert. He began playing hockey at the age of 5 in local out door rinks. He later stated "I was very fortunate we had the climate and the town had the facilities for us. Every day we weren't in school we were out skating."

Boston Bruins (1980–1989)

Following back-to-back 100+ point seasons, Kasper was chosen as the 81st overall pick by the Boston Bruins in the 1980 NHL entry draft. Kasper never played in the minors, immediately earning a spot on the Bruins roster. During his rookie year in the season, Kasper appeared in 76 games and scored 21 goals with 35 assists for 57 total points.

In his second season in , Kasper continued to show off his defensive/checking abilities while also having a solid scoring touch having another 20-goal season along with 31 assists in 73 total games. During the Stanley Cup playoffs, Kasper scored his first three postseason goals along with six assists, however the Bruins were eliminated by the Quebec Nordiques in the divisional round. The 1985-86 seen Kasper appear in all 80 games for the only time in his career scoring 40 points once again with 17 goals and 23 assists. During the playoffs, he would contribute 13 points on 7 goals and 6 assists in 23 games as the Bruins reached the Stanley Cup Final, where they were defeated by the Edmonton Oilers, 4–0 with one tie. He finished the season runner up to Guy Carbonneau for the Selke Trophy.

During his time with the Bruins, Kasper’s job was to shadow Wayne Gretzky when the team played Edmonton due to his defensive excellence. During these matchups, he would gain notoriety for being one of the few players that could effectively shut Gretzky down with his shadowing strategy.

Los Angeles Kings (1989–1991) After playing more than half of the season with the Bruins, Kasper was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for Bobby Carpenter. During this tenure he would enjoy some success with the Kings, playing with Wayne Gretzky and Bernie Nicholls. That year, Kasper appeared in 78 total games finishing with 19 goals and 31 assists. Kasper only appeared in 16 games for the Flyers that year after tearing his ACL in his right knee during a game vs Edmonton on November 14, 1991. Kasper made a full recovery the following year and played 21 games for the Flyers before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He then missed part of the season with a bruised shoulder, which he suffered during Tampa Bay's January 30, 1993 game vs. Minnesota. Kasper then retired at the end of the year due to chronic concussions and other injuries.

On May 3, 2007, Kasper became the new head coach of the Yarmouth Mariners of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League (CJAHL). The team had finished last place the year before he took the position but Kasper's first season saw them go to a first-place finish in the regular season with a 42-12-4 record, winning the Eastlink division Championship and then winning the 2008 Kent Cup championship title vs Woodstock Slammers in six games.

Kasper was then hired as director of pro scouting for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2013. He held the position for two years before being fired on April 12, 2015, the day after the team's last game of the season.

After this, Kasper would go to China, serving as the head coach of the Chinas U18 team in 2017 and coaching them to a 2-2-0 record. He would then move into an assistant position at Kunlun Red Star from 2018 to 2020. He completed the 2017-18 season as an assistant coach responsible for the forward group and penalty killing units. Upon completion of the KHL season, he was hired as the head coach of the Kunlun Red Star MHL team (Juniors) before being asked to return to the KHL in an assistant role to focus on defense and penalty killing.

Kasper would serve as the head coach of DVTK Jegesmedvék for the 2023–24 season. In 2024, Kasper took over as the head coach of HC Presov in Slovakia. Under Kasper’s guidance the team greatly improved and went 27-4 leading them to a first-place finish in the regular season. But just before the start of the playoffs, Kasper stepped down as coach to go back to Canada to deal with a serious family issue. The team won the league championship and got promoted to Slovak Extraliga.

In September 2025, Kasper was named head coach of the Kent Hills School (located in Kents Hill, Maine) girls’ Varsity Prep Ice Hockey team. With his family living in Andover, Massachusetts, Kasper was tapped to serve as the Kents Hill community's inaugural "Coach-in-Residence", which aimed to bring talent to the state that saw him live on campus to work with athletes and offer youth clinics during the season.

Awards and achievements

Seventh Player Award in 1981 Frank J. Selke Trophy winner in 1982. Bruins 3 Stars award in 1987 and 1988 Defensive player Award In 1990 and 1991 Saint-Lambert Sports Hall of Fame inductee Named One of the Top 100 Best Bruins Players of all Time. As a coach

Kent Cup 2008 Eastlink division Championship 2008 Slovenská hokejová liga regular season champion 2025

Personal life Kasper is married and has two sons, named Jordan and Michael. Kasper, who enjoyed his time with the Bruins, still resides in Massachusetts in the town of Andover. Kasper has also stated Bourque is one of his close friends.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1977–78 Verdun Éperviers QMJHL 63 26 45 71 16 4 2 4 6 0 1978–79 Verdun Éperviers QMJHL 67 37 67 104 53 11 7 6 13 22 1979–80 Verdun/Sorel Éperviers QMJHL 70 57 65 122 117 — — — — — 1980–81 Sorel Éperviers QMJHL 2 5 2 7 0 — — — — — 1980–81 Boston Bruins NHL 76 21 35 56 94 3 0 1 1 0 1981–82 Boston Bruins NHL 73 20 31 51 72 11 3 6 9 22 1982–83 Boston Bruins NHL 24 2 6 8 24 12 2 1 3 10 1983–84 Boston Bruins NHL 27 3 11 14 19 3 0 0 0 7 1984–85 Boston Bruins NHL 77 16 24 40 33 5 1 0 1 9 1985–86 Boston Bruins NHL 80 17 23 40 73 3 1 0 1 4 1986–87 Boston Bruins NHL 79 20 30 50 51 3 0 2 2 0 1987–88 Boston Bruins NHL 76 26 44 70 35 23 7 6 13 10 1988–89 Boston Bruins NHL 49 10 16 26 49 — — — — — 1988–89 Los Angeles Kings NHL 29 9 15 24 14 11 1 5 6 10 1989–90 Los Angeles Kings NHL 77 17 28 45 27 10 1 1 2 2 1990–91 Los Angeles Kings NHL 67 9 19 28 33 10 4 6 10 8 1991–92 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 16 3 2 5 10 — — — — — 1992–93 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 21 1 3 4 2 — — — — — 1992–93 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 47 3 4 7 18 — — — — — NHL totals 821 177 291 468 554 94 20 28 48 82

Coaching record Team Year Regular season Postseason G W L T Pts Finish ResultBOS1995–9682403111912nd in NortheastLost in First RoundBOS1996–978226479616th in NortheastMissed PlayoffsTotal164667820