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Wed Apr 16, 2008 12:27 am EDT

Celebrating the Most Vicious Hit in NHL History

By Greg Wyshynski

During my stint as Deadspin's NHL Closer daddy, there was one constant in my coverage ... well, besides the beer references and the occasional admiration of the female form: Orland Kurtenblog's seemingly endless Greatest NHL Hit of All-Time contest. I don't want to say this thing went long, but it felt like a 22-round shootout. I don't want to say they may have stretched it out a tad too far, but it made a Peter Jackson director's cut of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy seem like a toothpaste commercial by comparison...

Well, the boys stopped schilling their (admittedly awesome) T-shirts for a minute to finally end this thing. On one side of the championship match-up was Brian Campbell's devastation of the Flyers' RJ Umberger in the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs (video). On the other side was the hit named the best in NHL history by the KB: The Devils' Scott Stevens on Slava Kozlov of the Red Wings, during the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals. This total annihilation earned 62 percent of the vote:

Kozlov revisited his very public demise when Stevens was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, recalling that, "For the next 10 minutes after the hit, I didn't remember a lot." But what made that check such a classic -- besides the fact that it occurred during of the greatest upsets in Stanley Cup Finals history -- was the aftermath: Stevens returning to the bench, glaring at the Detroit side with that icy stare, pointing at Dino Ciccarelli and yelling, "You're next!" What a competitor...

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493 Comments

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  1. Steve L
    1. Posted by Steve L Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:30 pm EDT

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    Scotty... Gary's NHL isn't good enough for ya'.
  2. vick0911
    2. Posted by vick0911 Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:55 pm EDT

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    Fool got jackkkkeddd uppppp
  3. Becker
    3. Posted by Becker Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:04 pm EDT

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    Ouch son!
  4. K Diggity
    4. Posted by K Diggity Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:44 pm EDT

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    ESPN's Bill Clement is as clueless today as he was back then in 1995. It's NOT Viktor Kozlov who got hit, it's Slava Kozlov. Clement refers to Slava as Viktor twice in this clip. It doesn't get much better with the idiots they have calling the games today on NBC. I dread having to listen to Pierre McGuire and "Doc" Emmerick call a game. Too much babble and not enough attention paid to the actual game being played. No wonder TV ratings are dismal in the U.S.
    By the way, that was a great hit. Next to Stevens, Vladimir Konstantinov was the best open ice hitter of that era.
  5. BP
    5. Posted by BP Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:11 pm EDT

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    and people get mad at Sean Avery. Unbelievable.
  6. josiee7
    6. Posted by josiee7 Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:41 pm EDT

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    It's always so nice to see a Red Wing get slammed........lol GO AVS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  7. LatinCuban
    7. Posted by LatinCuban Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:20 pm EDT

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    To quote Ice Cube "Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!"
  8. Steve L
    8. Posted by Steve L Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:30 pm EDT

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    @whitaker84: Never, ever put Doc Emrick in the same category as Bill Clement.
  9. jeff o
    9. Posted by jeff o Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:40 pm EDT

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    nice how the elbow up went unnoticed by the ref's.... typical scott stevens
  10. VictorG
    10. Posted by VictorG Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:36 pm EDT

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    Scott Stevens is a dirt player and he hits like a tank but you cant compare him to Avery. Stevens my go out head hunting but that is a part of hockey. Avery is a disgrace to hockey (see clip of him attempting to fly in front of Marty). I am a Pens fan which means I don't like either one (both in my division) but still I can see head hunting as one thing, but destroying the game itself is more severe.
  11. Coop
    11. Posted by Coop Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:20 pm EDT

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    Never mind the bad annoucers in the U.S. .For any of you who think that was a dirty hit? Well,you should watch old-time hockey.Hockey is not meant to be figure skating with a puck.Yet,now this thought has hit me.No pun intended,lol.I recall when the American fans took the goons from Philly into thier hearts.So,we've gone from that farce.To a Great open ice hitter.To in Bettmans League,lifting another players stick,who has the puck,is a penalty.That use to be taught as a skill,just like open ice hitting.The Flyers a disgrace,YES!! But,The game had to be sold to you south of the border.You folks have never taken the time to learn what good,rough,hard-hitting hockey is.That's why you think Stevens is dirty.And,the new girls game great.Everyone has had it wrong.It wasn't the Europeans that hated checking and some rough stuff.It has alway's been you pansies south of the border.Stick to baseball and water polo,or something.Leave the "GREAT GAME" alone.Or,atleast,learn it.
  12. Tom S
    12. Posted by Tom S Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:23 pm EDT

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    yep his elbow was alway up, that's why he had 4 elbows in 20 years. the cbc call is way better
  13. Wyshynski
    13. Posted by Wyshynski Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:13 pm EDT

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    Dirty hit? Nah. The Lindros hit years later was a tad closer to illegality, but the Kozlov check was an absolute beauty.
  14. Todd B
    14. Posted by Todd B Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:19 pm EDT

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    he hits them in the chest, that hit was to the chest, it was so friggin hard that his head went back. They are high hits but he is not doing it to hit the guy in the head. This is why he was one of the most feared hitters in the nhl. Any non devil fan will call him a dirty player because he embarasses your players for keeping their heads down. Dont hate him.
  15. anti-tourist
    15. Posted by anti-tourist Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:47 pm EDT

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    so ... can you still crash a big check?
  16. Jake A
    16. Posted by Jake A Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:29 pm EDT

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    Stevens is my hero!!!! Heres a fun stat for all you haters, do you know how many minutes Stevens has spent in the box for elbowing? its 4. It must be the Flyer fans that say hes a dirty player. Well if your players knew how to skate with their heads up you'd be fine(Lindros, Langkow, Umberger, Kapanen) Thats another hit that was awesome. Darcy Tucker on Kapanen. Good stuff. I love seeing a Flyer get destroyed.
  17. Phil R
    17. Posted by Phil R Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:10 pm EDT

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    how about vlad the impalers hit on pat lafontaine in the cup finals? anybody? best hit ever, bar none, end of story.
  18. David G
    18. Posted by David G Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:38 pm EDT

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    What a dirty hit. If I were the Red Wing coach, I would have said screw winning or losing and devoted the rest of the series to taking out Stevens' knees.
  19. old school
    19. Posted by old school Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:37 pm EDT

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    His elbow never came up, it was a massive shoulder check. And clean at that. I remember the game. I am not Devils or Wings fan, but that was one of the best checks in recent years.
  20. Harvey M
    20. Posted by Harvey M Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:02 pm EDT

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    I have to disagree. The hardest hit in history was Steve Smith (Chicago) on Ronnie Stern (Calgary) around 1991 or 1992. Ronnie Stern was out before he hit the ice. His stick went one way and his glove went the other. He was flat out on the ice with his right hand in the air. (It is featured on the NHL video 100 hardest hits.)
    Stevens laid out a few gems in his career, but Smith on Stern is the poster for how to take care of business in the NHL.
  21. Steven
    21. Posted by Steven Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:56 pm EDT

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    Sorry. His hits were always clean. Devistating, but clean. You have the video evidence as proof. Not liking it doesn't make it dirty.
  22. Diego m
    22. Posted by Diego m Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:43 pm EDT

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    Where can I find more of Scott Stevens CRUSHING dudes!
  23. JLinkTX
    23. Posted by JLinkTX Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:37 pm EDT

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    People, this was 13 years ago. Get a life.
  24. rick1807
    24. Posted by rick1807 Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:40 pm EDT

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    I'm a life long Flyers fan, but I always enjoyed watching Stevens play. I love the physical part of the game, and Stevens always brought it. He's one of the great hitters.

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