(Photo by Lance Thomson/NHLI via Getty Images)

February 19, 2012 – The Winnipeg Jets beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-1 at the MTS Centre.

Bryan Little notched two goals and Blake Wheeler chipped in with four assists on the night. The victory made it three wins in a row for the Jets.

February 19, 1988- Clint Malarchuk recorded his 7th career shutout, and Kevin Hatcher picked up three assists as the Capitals won 6-0 against the Jets, at Winnipeg Arena.

February 19, 1966- Former Winnipeg Jets Right Winger, Peter Douris, was born in Toronto, Ont.

Douris was drafted in the 2nd Round (30th overall) by the Jets in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. He played just 21 games with Winnipeg between 1985-88 before being traded to St. Louis in 1989.

Thomas is one of the most underrated Swedish players in NHL history.

He grew up in the small town of Grums in the Värmland region where he learned to play hockey as a little kid. His childhood idol was his cousin and ex-NHL’er Dan Labraaten as well as his older brother Malte Steen who played in the Swedish elite league for many years. They inspired Thomas to become a hockey player.

Thomas played for Grums IK in the Swedish 2nd division until 1976. In his last season there he had 9 points (5+4) in 21 games. He then debuted in the Swedish Elite league as a 16-year old for Leksand. Thomas made such a good impression that he was selected to represent Sweden in the 1977 European Junior Championships. He did very well there as he collected 6 points (3+3) in 7 games and guided Sweden to a Gold medal. Thomas also played in the 1979 and 1980 World Junior Championship tournaments, making the All-Star team in 1979. All in all Thomas played 18 games and collected 18 points (10+8).

Winnipeg Jets liked what they saw and drafted Thomas 103rd overall in 1979. At that time nobody could imagine that this young kid would one day become the franchise All-time leader in seasons (14) , games (950) and assists (553). This quiet, humble and well liked Swede played in the shadow of many of his fellow countrymen but was one of the most useful players around. In 1990-91 the players in the NHL voted for him as the most underrated player in the league.

The season before he came to the NHL he won the “Player of the year” award (1980-81) in Sweden as he led his team Farjestad BK in scoring and to the league title. He also finished second overall in league scoring. That same season Thomas represented Sweden in the 1981 World Championships and Canada Cup.

Thomas played hard every game and never backed down from any confrontations. Former Jets GM John Ferguson only had positive things to say about Thomas.

“Thomas Steen is the toughest and bravest of all the Swedes in the NHL. I’ve seen Thomas involved in more physical confrontations than most of the Canadian players in the league. He looks like a choirboy, but he can play as tough as anyone in the league.”

Rick Bowness who coached Winnipeg said:

“You need players of Steen’s caliber to be successful in the NHL. He is our most useful player.”

Thomas strength was that he didn’t have a real weakness. He played with a great deal of determination, he had great leadership qualities which landed him the captaincy between 1989-91, he was a great passer, a fine two-way player, he had good anticipation and vision, was a fine face-off man, nice stickhandler… and the list goes on…

He wasn’t the flashy type of player but he was the heart and soul for the Jets for most of his 14 seasons with the team. No one wore the Jets uniform with more pride and dignity than Thomas Steen.

When it was announced at a press conference that Winnipeg was moving to Phoenix he cried openly.

“I was crushed by the news, he said later on.”

During his 14 year NHL career Thomas hit the 80 point plateau twice (84 and 88 points), 70 points once (72), 60 points four times (65, 64, 66 and 67) and 50 points four times (59, 50, 54 and 51). His best effort point wise came in 1988-89 when he collected 27 goals and 61 assists.

Even in Sweden Thomas wasn’t a household name. The primary reason was that he left for the NHL when he was only 21. But after his outstanding effort in the 1984 Canada Cup when he led his team to the finals, he got the recognition he deserved even from his folks back home. Thomas had prior to the 1984 Canada Cup only scored two goals in 21 games for the Swedish senior national team. He however exploded in the Canada Cup, as he went on to score a tournament high 7 goals in 8 games, scoring on 46.7 % of his shots.

“It was great to succeed in such a fine and prestigious tournament like the Canada Cup,” Thomas said. “It was something of a personal revenge for me since I never had much success previously on the national team.”

Thomas played on a line together with Hakan Loob and Kent Nilsson, both playing for Calgary Flames. They clicked together immediately and displayed some great hockey in the tournament.
Kent Nilsson had nothing but praise for his line mate.

“Thomas was incredible. As a center on our line he really worked hard. He was just a phenomenal guy to play with.”

Thomas heroics in the Swedish uniform wasn’t over. In the 1986 World Championships he was the tournaments leading scorer with 8 goals in 8 games as Sweden won the Silver. Thomas other appearances in the Swedish uniform came in the 1989 World Championships and 1991 Canada Cup.

The only thing Thomas regretted in his career was that his Winnipeg Jets never got past the second round while he was there.

“Personally I had a lot of success in Winnipeg. I only wish that the team could have done better in the playoffs.”

On May 6, 1995 Thomas Steen’s jersey # 25 was retired. He became only the second Jet after Bobby Hull to receive this honour and he became the first European trained player to have his number retired.

A great honour for the symphatic Swede. “It’s a great honour and I’m proud of it,” he said.

When Thomas announced that he had played his last game for Winnipeg he was given maybe the finest honour of them all. The children’s hospital in Winnipeg got the name “Thomas Steen children’s emergency” Thomas had donated large sums of money to the hospital for many years and also had a personal tragedy earlier on when his two month old son passed away.

The Steen family kept a house in Winnipeg as Thomas went on to play another three seasons in Germany for the Frankfurt Lions and Eisbären Berlin. He collected 55 points (23+32) in 117 games before finally hanging em’ up in 1998. During that time he also fulfilled a dream to skate along his talented son Alexander Steen during an exhibition game.

As the new millennium approached Thomas was still running his appreciated hockey school in Orsa, Sweden, together with his brother Malte every summer.

The words in the 1995-96 Winnipeg Jets Media Guide sums up Thomas perfectly.

“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 player who represented the club both on and off the ice with class and distinction.”

- Special thanks to Pat Houda

December 23, 1993- Teemu Selanne notched the seventh hat trick of his career, and added one assist to lead the Jets to a 5-2 win over the Quebec Nordiques at the Winnipeg Arena.

December 23, 1983 – Dale Hawerchuk scored his 100th career NHL goal and added an assist as the Winnipeg Jets won 6-3 over the visiting St. Louis Blues at Winnipeg Arena. St. Louis forward, Guy Chouinard, scored the 200th goal of his career during the same game.

December 23, 1980 – The Winnipeg Jets beat the Colorado Rockies 5-4 to end their 30 game winless streak (0-23-7). It would be the worst ever NHL season for the Jets, giving up 400 Goals and earning just nine victories.

During the streak the Jets went through three coaches – Tommy McVie, Bill Sutherland, and Mike Smith.

Doug Smail led the scoring in the victory with a goal and two assists. Smail would only notch 6 more assists the entire season.

December 4, 1991: Troy Murray had a goal and an assist to give him 500 NHL career points, in a 5-4 Jets’ win over Buffalo, at the Winnipeg Arena.

December 4, 1988: Calgary Flames Captain, Lanny McDonald, racked up his 500th career assist as the Flames beat the Winnipeg Jets 6-3 at the Winnipeg Arena.

December 4, 1984: Brian Sutter picked up two assists to reach his 500th career NHL point, as the Blues tied 2-2 with the visiting Winnipeg Jets.

December 4, 1981: Washington’s Dennis Maruk was too much for the Jets to handle, scoring four goals and adding two assists in the Capitals 7-3 win over Winnipeg in Washington. It was the 10th hat trick of Maruk’s NHL career.

December 2, 1990: The Jets couldn’t contain Garth Butcher on this night as the Canucks blueliner piled up four assists in a 5-1 Vancouver victory over the Jets in Winnipeg.

December 2, 1989: The Jets lost dropped a 6-3 decision at home to the New York Islanders. Islanders Centerman, Brent Sutter, a goal and three assists in the victory.

December 2, 1984: All-Star Defenseman, Randy Carlyle, notched 4 assists in an offensive battle as the Jets managed a 8-6 victory at home versus the Calgary Flames.  Carlyle finished the season 51 points in 71 games and represented Winnipeg, along with Paul MacLean, as a member of the Campbell Conference All-Star team.

December 2, 1979: The Jets dropped a 4-0 decision the new York Islanders. The shutout marked the 12th time Islander goaltender Billy Smith had blanked an NHL opponent. Smith and the Islanders went on to win their first of four straight Stanley Cups that season.