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Calling a truce Quinn, Stevens put personal stuff aside for Olympic cause
By Mike Zeisberger, Toronto Sun A ceasefire has been called in the ugly feud between Maple Leafs general manager/coach Pat Quinn and New Jersey Devils captain Scott Stevens. Whether the truce is merely temporary remains to be seen. When the Canadian Olympic Team opens a four-day orientation camp Tuesday in Calgary, Stevens will be there, listening intently to Quinn, Team Canada's head coach. Yes, that is the same Pat Quinn whom Stevens called "a liar" during the Stanley Cup playoffs four months ago. Stevens, enraged at Quinn's accusations that the veteran defenceman used dirty tactics during the past two post-season series between the Leafs and Devils, actually considered rejecting any potential invitation to the Olympic team. How could he play for someone who continually slagged him in the press, Stevens wondered? But by the time Quinn personally extended the Olympic offer to Stevens this summer, cooler heads had prevailed. "He called me and we had a brief talk," Stevens said yesterday. "The bottom line is, everyone wants to win. I'm not going to let that other stuff be a factor. "I don't forget what happened and maybe, back [in the playoffs], I thought about [not playing for Quinn]. But this is bigger than us. This is for the country. "I was riled up at some of the things he said, sure. But sometimes it's better to take a step back and re-evaluate things. That's old news." Stevens blew up at Quinn during the 2001 Eastern Conference semi-final when the Leafs coach said an alleged butt-end to the mouth of Toronto forward Darcy Tucker from Stevens was "far dirtier" than Tie Domi's highly publicized elbow to the face of Devils defenceman Scott Niedermayer. League officials reviewed game tapes and could not find any such incident involving Stevens and Tucker. "Nothing surprises me with this man anymore," a livid Stevens said of Quinn at the time. "He tells lies about me any time something happens, almost as if it is a smokescreen to what really happens."
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