Thomas Steen

Anders Thomas Steen (born June 8, 1960) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player and coach.

Steen is the former city councillor for the Winnipeg ward of Elmwood-East Kildonan.

Steen played professional ice hockey in the Elitserien, National Hockey League and Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

In his time in the NHL, he spent the entirety of his career with the original Winnipeg Jets.

Steen was born in Grums, Sweden, and began his career with Grums IK (1975–76).

He later played for the elite Leksands IF (1976–80) and Färjestads BK (1980–81).

Swedish coach Tommy Sandlin described him as "a particularly intelligent and competent player".

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.

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.

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.

In 1993, he helped set up an organization of five Junior Jets teams in Winnipeg for younger players.

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 worked with Manitoba Entertainment Complex Inc. in 1994, when the group was attempting to find a new downtown arena for the Jets.

Some 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 supported by management.

Others supported Steen's decision, arguing that he was acting in the best interests of the team.

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 Arizona Coyotes.

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.

Steen and two partners purchased 50% ownership in the International Hockey League's Minnesota Moose team in 1996 and brought the franchise to Winnipeg the following year as the Manitoba Moose.

He ultimately decided not to oversee the team in an ownership capacity and was appointed as director of player development.

In 1997, he partnered with the team to create the Thomas Steen/Manitoba Moose Hockey School.

He then played three seasons for Eisbären Berlin before retiring again in 1999.

Coincidentally, he announced his retirement on the same day as Wayne Gretzky.

He moved back to Winnipeg in the mid-2000s at the behest of his employer, and scouted talent in the American Hockey League.

In January 2001, he was named European pro scout for the Minnesota Wild.

A 2005 article in the National Post newspaper listed him as the second greatest player in the history of the Winnipeg Jets franchise, after Dale Hawerchuk.

Unlike many professional hockey players, Steen was known throughout his career for his thoughtful responses to interview questions.

In 2006, Steen and his son Alexander established an annual golf tournament to raise money for the Children's Hospital Foundation of Manitoba.

In 2006, Steen took part in a shareholder and creditor action against the directors of Maple Leaf Distillers and Protos International, seeking to have them repay $1.75 million invested over the last six years.

The action alleged that the directors had unfairly disregarded the interests of shareholders and used company money for personal expenses.

They denied the charges.

Shortly after losing a 2008 election in Manitoba (see below), Steen returned to Sweden as an assistant coach for Modo Hockey of the Elitserien.

Steen, however, later did return to Winnipeg and won a seat on the city council.

One of Steen's sons, Alexander Steen, is also a former professional hockey player who most recently played for the St. Louis Blues, playing left wing and serving as an alternate captain, also having won the Stanley Cup with the team in 2019.

Steen oversaw charity golf tournaments during and after his hockey career, with some proceeds going to children's charities.