It’s become almost tradition for John Stevens and Paul Holmgren to get together here, an annual meeting of hockey lifers.
Every summer, Stevens and Holmgren have breakfast at the Jersey Shore. Only about four miles on the waterway separate them — Stevens in Sea Isle City and Holmgren in Avalon. They talk about anything other than hockey: their kids and fishing, among other topics. By the time they’re done, it’s no longer breakfast.
“It usually lasts four or five hours,” Holmgren said.
They couldn’t do it this summer because Stevens was preparing for his first season as head coach of the Kings and couldn’t meet with his former boss and mentor, Holmgren, president of the Philadelphia Flyers.