Stevens spent his early years at the agency covering news, and in 1979 was moved to sportswriting. He covered ice hockey starting in the 1980s, providing coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 1982. After reporting on the 1986 and 1989 championship series, he covered the event annually starting in 1991. By 2008, Stevens had written on 20 Finals series. That year, Professional Hockey Writers' Association president Kevin Allen said of Stevens that "he might have been the most widely read hockey writer in Canada for the past 30 years." Stevens also served as a beat reporter on the Toronto Maple Leafs. In addition to the NHL, Stevens reported on numerous international tournaments, including the World Cup of Hockey twice, the Canada Cup four times, and the Ice Hockey World Championships four times. He covered the 1999 IIHF Women's World Championship, the 2001 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, and the Memorial Cup on multiple occasions.