Snowman On Fire

Thanks to Tim Bray, here’s a list of NHL team name anagrams that is as creative as it is funny.

Just how much fun could the New Jersey Devils have with the Very Snide Jewels alter-ego? Creative marketing is a good thing; it’s sad that it took Scott Steven’s sweater retirement to fill the house for the first time this season.

We were fortunate enough to be in the Devils’ House last night for Scott Stevens Night, when his number 4 became the club’s first retired sweater. Pictures and color commentary forthcoming, but first a story: About three years ago I was in the local Starbucks sipping iced coffee that is as rich as one has to be to enjoy it regularly. At the register was a blond-haired guy, wearing glasses, in a suit, not necessarily distinguished from anyone else stopping for a caffeine slap shot before hopping on the commuter bus to New York.

I said to my coffee mate, “I’ve scored as many goals this year as the guy at the counter.”

“He’s huge, who does he play for?” was the response, perhaps expecting me to name one of the adult league teams from leagues dotting our local rinks.

“New Jersey Devils, that’s Scott Stevens, and we each have one goal this season.” A defenseman’s value is not measured in goals; a captain’s value is not measured in his own statistics but those of the players around him.

The other parallel I draw to Stevens is that he spent quite a few Sunday mornings in South Mountain Arena, not as a practicing Devil but a practical parent, watching his son play house league hockey while my son chased the puck in the younger version of the same show on the other rink.

Scott Stevens became a regular guy on the ice last night. Off the ice, he was always a regular guy, whether having coffee or being an exemplary hockey dad in the stands. His leadership was incredible, and his friendship and value to the Devils can best be captured by what we witnessed last night — Patrik Elias wiping his eyes, the master of Euro-cool turned into just another regular guy by the captain.

Being a regular guy, I believe, is what made Scott Stevens the beacon of hockey in New Jersey. Despite the jokes and implicit torment we get in the Garden State, we’re just the state of regular guys: Bruce Springsteen, Southside Johnny, Paulie Walnuts. The cover of the commemorative program shows Stevens holding the Stanley Cup aloft, not to his teammates, but to the fans leaning over the players’ tunnel so that they, too, could touch greatness.

For all you gave to Devils fans, I’ll echo what nearly 20,000 voices shouted until hoarse: Thank you, Scotty.