COYOTES HONOR THOMAS STEEN
by Staff Writer / Arizona CoyotesTHOMAS STEEN'S RETIRED NO. 25 JERSEY TO BE HONORED
AT COYOTES-OILERS GAME ON SATURDAY
GLENDALE, ARIZONA --- Phoenix Coyotes General Manager Michael Barnett announced today that the Coyotes organization will honor former Winnipeg Jets star Thomas Steen and his retired No. 25 jersey in a special pre-game ceremony prior to the Coyotes versus Edmonton Oilers game on Saturday, Jan. 21 at Glendale Arena.
Steen, who played his entire 14-year NHL career with the Winnipeg Jets, will be in attendance as his No. 25 officially joins Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 and Bobby Hull's No. 9 in the Coyotes Ring of Honor at Glendale Arena. Steen's No. 25 was originally retired by the Jets on May 6, 1995 in his honor. Steen became only the second Jet in franchise history to have his sweater retired and he was also the first non-North American player to have his number retired by an NHL team.
In franchise history, Steen ranks 2nd all-time in games played (950), 3rd in goals (264), 1st in assists (553), 2nd in points (817), 4th in power play goals (73), 2nd in shorthanded goals (13), tied for 4th in game winning goals (29) and 6th in hat tricks (4). Upon his retirement, Steen ranked among the NHL's top 80 all-time point leaders as well as in the top 60 among the league's all-time assists leaders.
Steen had a remarkable career with the Winnipeg Jets, playing 14 NHL seasons with the club. No other player wore a Winnipeg sweater longer or with more pride and dignity. He entered the NHL in 1981 as a 21-year-old rookie, demonstrating a rare combination of toughness, speed and grace. He scored 15 goals and 44 points in his first NHL season. In each of his 13 NHL seasons that followed, the native of Grums, Sweden gave his all-out effort every night, earning a reputation as one of the league's toughest, most talented and consistent players.
The Swedish grinder was drafted by the Jets (5th pick, 103rd overall) after his third season with Leksand in Sweden. He set a career high with 30 goals in 1984-85 and scored 20 goals or more on four other occasions. Steen reached the 900-game plateau on Feb. 28, 1994 versus San Jose and scored his 800th NHL point versus Edmonton on Apr. 6, 1994.
Steen had an amazing career with numerous outstanding seasons. Perhaps his finest season came during the 1988-89 campaign when he registered 27 goals and set career highs for assists (61) and points (88). He was chosen as the Jets' nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy following the 1992-93 season and was the Jets' co-captain for the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons. He was selected to represent the Jets at the 1990 All-Star Game.
In addition to representing the Jets in 950 NHL games, Steen played for Team Sweden at the 1981 and 1986 World Championships. He also represented Team Sweden at the Canada Cup in 1981, 1984, 1987, and 1991. He played for Sweden at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York in 1980 and was named the Swedish League Player-of-the-Year in 1981.
Steen was a consummate professional who embodied everything good about the Jets organization; loyalty, commitment to excellence, hard work, dedication and pride. He played with enthusiasm and a burning desire to win at all costs. He was an exceptional two-way player who represented the club both on and off the ice with class and distinction.
Currently, Thomas' son Alexander Steen is in his rookie NHL season with the Toronto Maple Leafs and ranks 9th among all NHL rookies in scoring with 11 goals and 24 points in 38 games.
The Coyotes will face the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, January 21 at Glendale Arena. Game time is 7:00 p.m. For ticket information, please call 480-563-PUCK (7825), or visit www.phoenixcoyotes.com.
PHOENIX COYOTES/WINNIPEG JETS ALL-TIME CAREER LEADERS
GAMES PLAYED
1. Teppo Numminen 1,098
2. THOMAS STEEN 950
3. Dale Hawerchuk 713
4. Shane Doan 694
5. Doug Smail 691
6. Keith Tkachuk 640
7. Randy Carlyle 564
8. Ron Wilson 536
9. Paul MacLean 528
10. Laurie Boschman 526
GOALS
1. Dale Hawerchuk 379
2. Keith Tkachuk 323
3. THOMAS STEEN 264
4. Paul MacLean 248
5. Doug Smail 189
6. Morris Lukowich 168
7. Shane Doan 155
8. Laurie Boschman 152
9. Teemu Selanne 147
10. Jeremy Roenick 141
ASSISTS
1. THOMAS STEEN 553
2. Dale Hawerchuk 550
3. Teppo Numminen 426
4. Keith Tkachuk 300
5. Paul MacLean 270
6. Fredrik Olausson 249
7. Dave Babych 248
8. Shane Doan 230
9. Laurie Boschman 227
10. Randy Carlyle 226
POINTS
1. Dale Hawerchuk 929
2. THOMAS STEEN 817
3. Keith Tkachuk 623
4. Teppo Numminen 534
5. Paul MacLean 518
6. Doug Smail 397
7. Shane Doan 385
8. Laurie Boschman 379
9. Jeremy Roenick 351
10. Morris Lukowich 345
POWER PLAY GOALS
1. Dale Hawerchuk 122
2. Keith Tkachuk 114
3. Paul MacLean 97
4. THOMAS STEEN 73
5. Teemu Selanne 49
6. Morris Lukowich 46
7. Ed Olczyk 45
8. Pat Elynuik 44
9. Andrew McBain 41
10. Fredrik Olausson 40
SHORTHANDED GOALS
1. Doug Smail 25
2. THOMAS STEEN 13
3. Dale Hawerchuk 12
Keith Tkachuk 12
5. Dave McLlwain 9
6. Dallas Drake 8
7. Jeremy Roenick 7
Laurie Boschman 7
GAME WINNING GOALS
1. Keith Tkachuk 40
2. Jeremy Roenick 32
3. Doug Smail 31
4. THOMAS STEEN 29
Dale Hawerchuk 29
6. Shane Doan 24
Paul MacLean 24
8. Ladislav Nagy 21
9. Teppo Numminen 19
10. Laurie Boschman 16
Morris Lukowich 16
HAT TRICKS
1. Dale Hawerchuk 12
2. Keith Tkachuk 9
3. Teemu Selanne 8
4. Paul MacLean 7
5. Alexei Zhamnov 5
6. THOMAS STEEN 4
7. Ray Neufeld 3
Jeremy Roenick 3