Far-right views shared
Controversial NHL keeper Greiss resigns
07/13/2023 2:49 p.m
At the 2017 World Cup, Thomas Greiss was part of the German national ice hockey team for the last time. He causes unrest with social media activities, which is why the DEB no longer nominates him. Now the 35-year-old announces the end of his NHL career.
Goalkeeper Thomas Greiss has ended his active ice hockey career. The NHL.com website reported this on Wednesday, and when asked, the former German national player said that he was “officially retired”. Greiss was last under contract with the St. Louis Blues, since July 1 he was a free agent and therefore without a team.
“I’m now looking forward to the next quieter chapter with more time for the family,” said Greiss: “There were a few considerations, but in the end I looked at a few offers that didn’t really appeal to me. I was ready to take the step and I look forward to doing some new things in my life.”
The Füssen native was drafted in the third round of the 2004 draft by the San Jose Sharks, who later gave him his first NHL contract. Greiss played 14 seasons in the North American professional league, appearing in a total of 368 regular-season games.
In addition to his time with the Sharks, the goalie also played for the Phoenix Coyotes, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the New York Islanders, the Detroit Red Wings and most recently in St. Louis. In the future, Greiss, who took part in the 2006 and 2010 Olympic Games with the German national team, would like to focus on his life off the ice.
Hitler and Clinton and Trump
With his activities there, Greiss had caused a stir in the past, which ultimately even resulted in his departure from the national team. The keeper was not considered for the World Cup in 2021, mainly because of some social media postings. “I also wish German ice hockey all the best, but the DEB issue is over for me,” said Greiss in an interview with the magazine “Eishockey News” at the time.
Before the 2021 World Cup, DEB sports director Christian Künast, with a view to the values of the German Ice Hockey Federation, made it clear in the association’s statutes that Greiss “was not eligible for a nomination for the sporting leadership at the moment”. Greiss had not played for Germany since the home World Cup in 2017. The Donald Trump supporter had repeatedly shown sympathy with ultra-right views on social networks. Among other things, Greiss had put a “like” under a photo montage of US President Trump, who has since been voted out, with a sword in one hand and Hillary Clinton’s severed head in the other.
During the 2017 World Cup, for example, his former NHL club said: “The New York Islanders do not approve of Thomas Greiss’ social media behavior and are clarifying the matter internally.” On Instagram, among other things, he pressed the “Like” button when Hillary Clinton was compared to Adolf Hitler, but removed his approval after a report by Deutschlandfunk.
The DEB then protected Greiss, but also criticized it at the same time. “Basically, Hitler is a no-go, that’s very clear. There are things that don’t work in Germany,” said Vice President Marc Hindelang, and clarified: “Thomas Greiss is not a right-wing extremist or a right-wing populist. We spoke to him about it .” Greiss has described himself as “Americanized” in the past. He has lived in the USA since 2006 and is married to a former “Miss South Dakota”.