Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Alex Steen has retired after 15 seasons in the NHL.
Drafted 24th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Steen blossomed into one of the best players in the entire draft class.
Although there are currently players still active within this class, Steen is second among all players with 622 career points. Not too shabby for the 24th overall pick.
When fans think of Steen’s career in Toronto, they unfortunately don’t think of his time on the ice, as much as they think about the trade that sent him to St. Louis. In one of the worst moves in franchise history, the team decided to send Steen and Carlo Colaiacovo to the Blues in exchange for Lee Stempniak.
Stempniak had a career 2006-07 season, scoring 27 goals, which I guess the Leafs couldn’t resist. Even when this trade happened, it didn’t make much sense. Now, 12 years later, this exchange looks even worse.
Alex Steen Retires after 15 NHL Seasons
In his next eight full NHL seasons with the St. Louis Blues, Steen would score no less than 15 goals in a season. He’d score 20-plus goals four times, including one magical season where he finished with 33 goals. Steen was a perfect top-six winger for the Blues and a huge reason why the team was a contender year-after-year.
Stempniak on the other hand, would play on eight (!!!) different NHL rosters and never scored 20 goals in a season again. He was a serviceable NHLer, but he wasn’t a difference maker like Steen.
The reason the Leafs should have kept him to begin with is because the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Alex’s dad (Thomas Steen) played 23 professional hockey seasons, including 950 career NHL games. The children of professional athletes find a way to be successful, even if it takes a few years to develop.
Just look at the Toronto Blue Jays right now. Three of their top players are son’s of former professional athletes (Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Cavan Biggio). Same goes with reining Super Bowl MVP, Patrick Mahomes and former NBA MVP Steph Curry.
If I were in charge of a professional sports team, I would always give the benefit of the doubt to children of professional athletes. They had the luxury of learning from the very best from a young age and when times are tough, their family can relate to their situation and coach them through it.
This isn’t nepotism. The son typically turns into a good NHL player if their father also played in the league. Just look at these current NHL families for example:
- Father: Michael Nylander
- Son: William
- Father: Keith Tkachuk
- Son(s): Matthew and Brady
- Father: Sami Kapanen
- Son: Kasperi
- Father: Peter Stastny
- Son: Paul
- Father: J.P. Parise
- Son: Zach
- Father: Mike Foligno
- Son(s): Marcus and Nick
- Father: Tie Domi
- Son: Max
All I’m saying is that the Leafs should have looked at the family history before shipping young Alex to the St. Louis Blues. It could have solved a lot of issues for the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs, who had just missed the playoffs for three consecutive seasons.
For Leafs fans, it would have been great to see Steen in the blue-and-white for another decade, but I’m sure he’s happy how things worked out. The Winnipeg, ON native finished his career with 245 goals, 377 assists and 622 points in 1018 games (via: hockeydb.com)
Not only that, but he reached the pinnacle of professional hockey, winning the Stanley Cup during the 2018-19 season with the Blues. That’s definitely something he wouldn’t have been able to cross off his bucket list if he spent his entire career in Toronto.