Thomas Steen

Thomas Steen (born June 8, 1960 in Grums, Sweden) is a retired professional ice hockey player.

Hockey career
Steen began his career with Grums IK (1975-76), and later played for the elite Leksands IF (1976-80) and Färjestads BK (1980-81). He was drafted by the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League in 1978, but never played for the team.

Steen was drafted by the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets in 1979, as their fifth-round choice. He was signed two years later by John Ferguson, and went on to become one of the most prolific players in the team's history. Steen played a total of 950 regular season NHL games, scoring 264 goals and receiving 553 assists. In a 1987 interview, he said that his focus was on creating plays for others rather than scoring goals himself. A 1990 poll of NHL players named him as the league's most underrated player. Steen continued to play for the Swedish national team in World Championship games throughout his NHL career, and won silver medals at the 1981 World Championship in Gothenburg and the 1986 World Championship in Moscow.

There were discussions about Steen being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in early 1994, but these ultimately came to nothing. His record of playing fourteen seasons with only one team is unusual in modern North American professional sports. Steen retired in 1995, and his jersey number 25 was retired by the Jets. The number is still considered retired by the Jets' successor team, the Phoenix Coyotes. Unlike many professional hockey players, Steen was known throughout his career for his thoughtful responses to interview questions.

Steen worked with Manitoba Entertainment Complex Inc. in 1994, as the group sought to find a new downtown arena for the Jets. Some other players questioned his judgement in this matter: failed labour negotiations had led to NHL players being locked out, and some believed it was a conflict of interest for Steen to promote a project that was supported by management. Other players supported Steen's decision, and argued that he was acting in the best interests of the team.

He came out of retirement in 1996, playing seven regular season and playoff games for the Frankfurt Lions of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga at the end of their season. He then played three seasons for the Berlin Polar Bears team before retiring again in 1999. Ironically, he announced his retirement on the same day as Wayne Gretzky. In January 2001, he was named European pro scout for the Minnesota Wild. He moved back to Winnipeg in the mid-2000s at the behest of his employer, and scouted talent in the American Hockey League.

Steen returned to Sweden in 2009, to coach MoDo of the Elitserien.

Awards and achievements

 * European Junior Ice Hockey Championships|European Junior Championship Gold Medalists (1977)
 * World Junior Silver Medalists (1978)
 * World Junior Bronze Medalists (1979)
 * World Junior First All-Star Team (1979)
 * World Junior Bronze Medalists (1980)
 * Sweden Elitserien Player of Year (1981)
 * Swedish World All-Star Team (1981, 1985, & 1986)
 * Swedish Championship (1981)
 * World Championship Silver Medalist (1981 & 1986)
 * Played in the Canada Cup (1981, 1984, & 1991)
 * Selected to the NHL All-Star Game (1990)
 * The Winnipeg Jets retired his number 25 in 1994
 * “Honoured Member” of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame