Kevin Stevens, a Rangers forward and a star on the Penguins' Stanley Cup championship teams in 1991 and 1992, wasn't on the ice. He wasn't even with his team.

	Rangers forward Kevin Stevens, right, was found in a motel with Pamela Velia, left, and several grams of crack early Sunday, police say.

Instead, Stevens apparently was in a substance abuse facility after being arrested early Sunday in suburban St. Louis on felony drug charges. A prostitute who was with Stevens told police that the player purchased $500 worth of crack cocaine before his arrest.

Stevens was one of the most popular Penguins ever, not just with the fans but with his teammates, and his personal troubles clearly troubled the players who once played alongside him.

"It's sad, it really is," Penguins forward Rob Brown said. "You don't want to see anybody get in trouble. I hope it's a wakeup call and he gets the help he needs.

"Maybe this will turn his life around. He's got a wonderful family."

Stevens has two children, and his wife is pregnant with the couple's third child.

Penguins owner Mario Lemieux, who played alongside Stevens on the Penguins' top line, issued a statement of support.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Kevin and his family," Lemieux said. "He knows that his many friends in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization are here to help him in any way possible during this difficult time."

Several players said they couldn't believe it when word of Stevens' arrest filtered through Mellon Arena during the Philadelphia Flyers-Penguins game Sunday night.

"He was a very good hockey player -- and a very good guy," said Penguins captain Jaromir Jagr, whose transition as an 18-year-old NHL rookie in 1991 admittedly was eased by playing alongside Lemieux, Stevens and Ron Francis. "It's too bad it happened to him."

Assistant coach Eddie Johnston, the Penguins general manager who acquired Stevens from the Los Angeles Kings in 1983, remembered how Stevens often loosened up the locker room with his humor.

But he also said Stevens was a leader, such as when Stevens promised the Penguins wouldn't lose their Wales Conference championship series against Boston in 1991 even after they fell behind 2-0. The Penguins won the next four games.

Stevens had 54 goals in 1991-92 and 55 in 1992-93, when the Penguins set an NHL record by winning 17 consecutive games. He scored 40 or more goals for four consecutive seasons from 1990-94, finishing with 251 goals and 276 assists in 458 Penguins games from 1987-95.

Stevens' scoring dropped of significantly after he smacked the ice face-first and was knocked unconscious in the Penguins' Game 7 upset loss to the New York Islanders in the 1993 playoffs.

Still, the Penguins apparently were interested in reacquiring Stevens just prior to his arrest.

"I don't know if he was coming back, but I know that (general manager) Craig Patrick was talking to the Rangers about some things," Johnston said. "I know there was a possibility that he (Stevens) was going to be bought out, so there was a possibility he might be available."

Madison Square Garden president Dave Checketts and Rangers general manager Neil Smith met with the Rangers to discuss Stevens' situation. They also expressed the organization's full support, even if would seem highly unlikely Stevens will ever play for the Rangers again.