Newark, NJ

Though often credited with his game-changing hard check as a player, Scott Stevens' return to the Devils could boost the club -- only this time from the bench after being named to the New Jersey coaching staff.

Stevens, a long-time Devils captain and defenseman, was named an assistant coach Tuesday.

It will mark the first time Stevens, 48, will work behind the bench in a game. The former Devils great will be responsible for running the team's defense.

Stevens, who captained New Jersey to its three Stanley Cup championships and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007, is coming back full-time with the Devils.

Stevens, who spent 13 of his 22 NHL seasons with the Devils, has been a part-time member of the Devils coaching staff the last five seasons after announcing his retirement in September of 2005.

The 13-time NHL All-Star Stevens has some experience behind the Devils bench, having been a part-time assistant for Jacques Lemaire in 2009-10. He has worked the last two seasons as a special assignment coach for the Devils after his part-time assistant coaching stint.

Stevens also played for Washington and St. Louis, but he emerged in his career in New Jersey. He personified the Devils' defense-first mentality as he captained the team to four Stanley Cup Finals appearances in nine years, capturing three of them.

In the 1993-94 campaign, Stevens posted a career-high 78 points, becoming the only defenseman to ever lead the Devils in scoring. In 2000, Stevens was recognized with the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

In 2006, the Devils retired Steven's No. 4 jersey. Stevens was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on his first chance in 2007.

New Jersey also named Matt Shaw an assistant. Shaw worked the last three seasons in San Jose as an assistant.

The new hires completed the Devils coaching staff after the departure of Hall of Famers Larry Robinson and Adam Oates.

Stevens will take the position of Robinson, who left to be an assistant with San Jose.

Shaw, who also was on the staff in Minnesota, when former Devils coach Lemaire was leading the Wild, will replace Oates, who took the head-coaching position with the Capitals.

Shaw, who ran the Sharks' power play for the past three years, will work with New Jersey's power-play unit. The Sharks, under Shaw's guidance, ranked second in the NHL in power play in 2011-12, with a success rate of 21.1 percent.

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