Börje Salming

Anders Börje Salming (pronounced [ˈbœ̂rjɛ ˈsâlːmɪŋ]; 17 April 1951 – 24 November 2022), nicknamed "The King", was a Swedish ice hockey player.

He was a defenceman who played professionally for 23 seasons, for the clubs Brynäs IF, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, and AIK. He spent 16 seasons with the Maple Leafs, who retired his number 21 in 2016. Salming holds several Maple Leafs records, including the most assists. Salming also played extensively for Sweden in international competitions, winning two World Championship medals.

Salming was one of the first European players to make an impact in the National Hockey League (NHL), being named to six consecutive NHL All-Star Teams. In 1996, his first year of eligibility, Salming became the first European player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2017, the NHL named Salming one of the '100 Greatest Players' in the first century of the league. For his international play, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) named him in their Centennial All-Star Team, and the Swedish Ice Hockey Association included him in their All-Century Team.

Salming died at the age of 71 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in November 2022.

Early life

Salming was born on 17 April 1951 in the village of Salmi in Kiruna, near Torneträsk in Jukkasjärvi Parish. His father, Erland (1921–1956), was of Sami origin, while his mother, Karin (born in 1927), is Swedish. His paternal grandfather Anders Nikolaus had the surname of Saari, but changed to Salming after the village that he and his father (Börje's great-grandfather) had built up. His father was a miner who died in a mining accident when Salming was 5 years old. Salming identified himself as indigenous Sámi and was included in the electoral roll for Sametinget. He also shared his experiences growing up as indigenous in his native Kiruna and took stride in the struggle for Indigenous peoples human rights in national TV . As a reflection of his Sámi heritage, Salming often wore a traditional Sami pewter bracelet.

Playing career

Sweden

Salming played with Kiruna AIF in Sweden's Division 2 from 1967–1970, before joining Brynäs in the top division between 1970 and 1973. Brynäs won league championships in 1971 and 1972 with Salming on the squad. The team's success attracted attention from Toronto Maple Leafs scout Gerry McNamara, who was initially sent to investigate Inge Hammarström, but was more impressed by Salming after seeing him play. The Maple Leafs signed Salming as a free agent on 12 May 1973.

NHL career

Salming made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut with the Leafs at the beginning of the 1973–74 NHL season against the Buffalo Sabres. After a 7–4 victory, Salming was named the best player of the game. By the end of the season, Salming had recorded 39 points.

Prior to Salming's arrival in the NHL, most North Americans considered European players too soft to play in the NHL. North American ice hockey was played in a more physical style on a smaller rink, and hockey fights were common, while European ice hockey emphasised speed and skill on a larger ice surface. NHL sources even referred to players from Sweden as "Chicken Swedes". Salming's strong performances helped to permanently eradicate that reputation.

On 4 September 1986, Salming was suspended by the NHL for eight regular-season games and fined $500, because he was quoted in a Toronto newspaper in May saying that he used cocaine "five, six years ago, but not since and I feel good about saying no." The league initially suspended him for the entire season, then commuted the suspension. 

On 26 November 1986, late in a game between the Leafs and the Red Wings in Detroit, Salming was knocked down in front of the Leafs net and Gerard Gallant of the Red Wings accidentally cut Salming's face with his skate blade. The injury required facial cosmetic surgery that involved more than 200 stitches.

On 4 January 1988, Salming became the first European born and trained player to appear in 1,000 career NHL games. In recognition of his achievement, on 27 January (in Salming's 1,011th game), he was gifted a car driven onto the ice by his parents and friend Inge Hammarstrom in a surprise pre-game ceremony, inspired by a similar ceremony given by the Philadelphia Flyers to Bill Barber.

In 1989, after 16 years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he signed as a free agent with the Red Wings, for whom he played one season to finish his career in the NHL.

In the NHL, he played 1148 regular season games (1099 of them with the Leafs) and 81 playoff games, scoring totals of 150 goals and 637 assists. Salming was named a First Team All-Star in 1977, and was selected to the Second Team in 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, and 1980. Salming spent 16 seasons with the Maple Leafs, recording 768 points (148 goals, 620 assists).

Return to Sweden

He completed his pro hockey career with AIK of the Swedish Elite League.

International play

Salming played for the Sweden national team during the 1976 Canada Cup, which was held at Maple Leaf Gardens. Sweden faced Team USA in Toronto, Salming received a standing ovation. Salming later commented, "I'll never forget our game in Toronto. The fans gave me a standing ovation during the introductions. I was representing my country and Canadian fans gave me a standing ovation. Sometimes hockey has no country."

Retirement

After the end of his playing career, Salming launched an eponymous brand of sports underwear.[citation needed] In 2007, at age 56, he posed nude for 31 paintings by Swedish graffiti artist Johan Wattberg. Ten of the paintings were displayed in Sweden, with the remaining 21 (matching his jersey number) displayed in Toronto.

Personal life

In 2016, he married his wife Pia Salming. Salming had six children: Theresea, Anders, Rasmus, Bianca, Lisa, and Sara. His daughter Bianca Salming is a heptathlete.

Health issues and death

In February 2022, Salming began to experience an unusual twitching motion in his muscles, which later forced him to prematurely exit an alumni game in March. In mid-July, Salming was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease. On 10 August, Salming publicly revealed his diagnosis via a statement shared through the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. Following his diagnosis, Salming developed severe depression. Appearing in public on 17 October, for the first time since his diagnosis, Salming revealed that his condition had worsened: he had lost the ability to speak, requiring him to use a tablet computer for communication, and required a feeding tube for meals.

On 11 November 2022, despite his diagnosis, Salming made the annual trip to Toronto for the Maple Leafs' Hall of Fame induction weekend game, where he was part of an emotional pre-game moment where lifelong friend Darryl Sittler helped Salming wave to the crowd. The following night, the Maple Leafs honoured Salming in their game against the Vancouver Canucks, featuring a pre-game ceremony dedicated to the defender where a tearful Salming dropped the puck in the ceremonial face off. The Maple Leafs selected a unique starting line-up of six Swedish players, to honour Salming's career.

Two weeks after the ceremony, Salming died on 24 November 2022, at the age of 71. His death made national headlines in Canada and in Sweden, with several organizations, athletes and celebrities offering tributes to his life.

Honours and awards

In November 1996, he became the first Swedish player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.[27] In 1998, he was ranked 74th on The Hockey News list of the 100 Greatest National Hockey League Players, the only player from Sweden on the list.[citation needed] In 2017, the NHL itself named Salming one of the '100 Greatest Players' in league history.[28IIHF Centennial All Star Team Trophy (Team of the Century: Vladislav Tretiak, Börje Salming, Viacheslav Fetisov, Valeri Kharlamov, Sergei Makarov and Wayne Gretzky).

On 4 October 2006, Salming's no. 21 was honoured by the Leafs in a ceremony, along with Red Kelly's and Hap Day's no. 4, before their first game of the 2006–07 season.

Records

• Salming holds six career and single season Toronto Maple Leaf records including most career points by a defenceman, most career goals by a defenceman, most career assists (any position), most assists in a season by a defenceman, and best career plus-minus.
• First Swedish (and European) player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.