John Stevens

John A. Stevens (born May 4, 1966) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former defenceman, currently an assistant coach for the Vegas Golden Knights. He previously served as head coach of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers. During his playing days, Stevens suited up for the Flyers and Hartford Whalers.

Drafted by Philadelphia in the third round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, Stevens spent most of his playing career in the AHL. He played four seasons with the Hershey Bears before brief NHL call-ups in 1986–87 and 1987–88, totaling nine games with the Flyers. In 1990, he signed with Hartford and was assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Indians, where he became captain and won the Calder Cup. When the franchise moved to Worcester in 1994, Stevens became the first captain of the Springfield Falcons, playing two more seasons.

He returned to the Flyers organization in 1996 as the first captain of the expansion Philadelphia Phantoms, winning another Calder Cup in his second season. Over 53 NHL games, he recorded no goals, ten assists, and 48 penalty minutes. In the AHL, he played 834 games, scoring 20 goals and 166 assists. Despite his low scoring, he scored the first goals in franchise history for both the Falcons and the Phantoms.

A career-ending eye injury forced Stevens to retire as a player in 1999, but he stayed with the Phantoms as an assistant coach. He became their head coach in 2000, leading them to four playoff appearances and a Calder Cup title in 2005. After the 2005–06 season, he was promoted to the Flyers as an assistant, then named head coach on October 22, 2006, following Ken Hitchcock’s firing. His first NHL game was a 3–2 win over Atlanta on October 26.

The 2006–07 Flyers set a franchise record with ten straight losses and finished with the worst record in team history, dropping from 101 points the previous season to an NHL-record low of 56. However, Stevens guided them to a dramatic turnaround in 2007–08, winning 42 games and 95 points. The Flyers beat Washington and upset top-seeded Montreal in the playoffs before losing to Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference Final. The Hockey News named him Coach of the Year. He was fired on December 4, 2009, after a 13–11–1 start.

On June 24, 2010, Stevens signed as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings. After head coach Terry Murray was fired in 2011–12, Stevens served as interim head coach for four games before Darryl Sutter took over. He returned to his assistant role and won the Stanley Cup with the Kings in 2012 and again in 2014. He was promoted to associate head coach on June 18, 2014. On April 23, 2017, he became Kings head coach, leading them to the playoffs as the first wild card but losing to Vegas in the first round. He was fired on November 4, 2018, after a 4–8–1 start. He later joined the Dallas Stars as an assistant coach, leaving on May 20, 2022. On June 28, 2022, he became an assistant coach for the Vegas Golden Knights, winning a third Stanley Cup on June 13, 2023.

Stevens grew up in Turkey Point, Ontario. His three brothers played hockey, including Larry Stevens, who briefly played for the Sudbury Wolves. His two sons also play: John Jr. played at Northeastern University and signed with the New York Islanders, currently with their AHL affiliate; Nolan Stevens played for the US National Development Team and Northeastern, and was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.