Börje Salming

Börje Salming
Börje Salming at an Oldtimers game in Scandinavium
Born	April 17, 1951 (1951-04-17) Kiruna, SWE
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	209 lb (95 kg; 14 st 13 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Kiruna AIF (Division 2) Brynäs IF (SEL) Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) Detroit Red Wings (NHL) AIK Hockey (SEL)
National team	Sweden
NHL Draft	Undrafted
Playing career	1967–1993
Hall of Fame, 1996

Anders Börje Salming (born April 17, 1951), nicknamed "The King", is a retired Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman. He played for Kiruna AIF, Brynäs IF, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Detroit Red Wings, and AIK. Salming was one of the first European players to make an impact in the National Hockey League (NHL), paving the way for future generations of players. He was one of the premier defencemen of his era in the NHL, and was recognized for this by being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996. Salming also played extensively for Sweden in international play. He was recognized for this by being selected to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Centennial All-Star Team.

Early life

Anders Börje Salming was born on April 17, 1951, in the village of Salmi, Jukkasjärvi församling, in Kiruna near Torneträsk. His father Erland was of Saami origin, while his mother Karin was 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 mineworker and died in an accident in the mine when Salming was 5 years old. He is proud of his Sami heritage, and wears a traditional Sami pewter bracelet.

He followed in his brothers footsteps playing ice hockey and also played hand ball.

Playing career

Professional

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. Salming was signed as a free agent by the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 12, 1973. Salming was not the Leafs target when they began scouting in Sweden, they were actually interested in Inge Hammarström, but scout Gerry McNamara reported back positively on Salming after seeing him play.

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. At the end of the season, Salming had recorded 39 points.

Prior to Salming, the consensus in North American hockey circles was that European players lacked the toughness to play North American hockey, with those from Sweden even being referred to as "Swedish Chickens". However, Salming did much to permanently eradicate that reputation. He played 1148 regular games (1099 of them with the Leafs), 81 playoff games and scored 150 goals and 637 assists in the NHL.

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).

On November 26, 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 surgery and more than two hundred stitches to his face.

In 1989, after sixteen years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Borje signed as a free agent with the Red Wings, for whom he played one season to finish his career in the NHL. He completed his pro hockey career with AIK of the Swedish Elite League.

International

Salming was a fan favourite in Toronto. The peak of his popularity may have come during the 1976 Canada Cup which was held at Maple Leaf Gardens. When Team Sweden was playing against the United States, Salming received an extended standing ovation during player introductions. 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."

Suspension

On September 4, 1986, Salming was suspended by the NHL for the entire 1986–87 season for admitting in a newspaper interview that he had tried cocaine. However, Salming served just eight games of the suspension before being reinstated.

Retirement

Salming with All-Star Legends 2008 in Toronto

After the end of his active hockey career, Salming moved into the sports underwear business with his own brand Salming Underwear. In 2007, at age 56, he posed nude for acclaimed Swedish graffiti artist Johan A Wattberg to create 31 paintings that were initially exhibited in Sweden before going on permanent display at The SPORT Gallery in Toronto, Canada.

Honours and awards

In 1996 he became the first Swedish hockey player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 1998, he was ranked 74th on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players, the highest-ranked player from Sweden.

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

• Named to the All-Star Team at the World Ice Hockey Championships in 1973.
• Named to the Swedish All-Star Team in 1973 and 1989.
• Named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979 and 1980.
• Awarded the Viking Award (Best Swede in North America) in 1976, 1977 and 1979.
• Awarded the Molson Cup (Most 3 Star Selections) in 1974, 1977, 1978 and 1980.
• Named to the Canada Cup All-Star Team in 1976.
• Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1976, 1977 and 1978.
• Named to the NHL First All-Star Team in 1977.
• Winner of the Charlie Conacher Humanitarian Award for the 1981–82 NHL season.
• Played for Team NHL in the 1979 Challenge Cup.
• Named to the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1998.
• IIHF centennial All Stars team in 2008.

Records

• Holds 6 career and single season Toronto Maple Leaf records including most career points by a defenseman, most career goals by a defenceman, most career assists (any position), most assists in a season by a defenceman, and best career plus-minus^{[citation needed]}.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1967–68	Kiruna AIF	Swe-2		8	-	-	-	-		—	—	—	—	—
1968–69	Kiruna AIF	Swe-2		13	-	-	-	-		—	—	—	—	—
1969–70	Kiruna AIF	Swe-2		16	5	-	5	-		—	—	—	—	—
1970–71	Brynäs IF	Swe-1		27	2	8	10	24		—	—	—	—	—
1971–72	Brynäs IF	Swe-1		28	1	5	6	40		—	—	—	—	—
1972–73	Brynäs IF	Swe-1		26	5	4	9	34		—	—	—	—	—
1973–74	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		76	5	34	39	48		4	0	1	1	4
1974–75	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		60	12	25	37	34		7	0	4	4	6
1975–76	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		78	16	41	57	70		10	3	4	7	9
1976–77	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		76	12	66	78	46		9	3	6	9	6
1977–78	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		80	16	60	76	70		6	2	2	4	6
1978–79	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		78	17	56	73	76		6	0	1	1	8
1979–80	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		74	19	52	71	94		3	1	1	2	2
1980–81	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		72	5	61	66	154		3	0	2	2	4
1981–82	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		69	12	44	56	170		—	—	—	—	—
1982–83	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		69	7	38	45	104		4	1	4	5	10
1983–84	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		68	5	38	43	192		—	—	—	—	—
1984–85	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		73	6	33	39	176		—	—	—	—	—
1985–86	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		41	7	15	22	48		10	1	6	7	14
1986–87	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		56	4	16	20	42		13	0	3	3	14
1987–88	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		66	2	24	26	82		6	1	3	4	8
1988–89	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		63	3	17	20	86		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		49	2	17	19	52		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	AIK	Elit		36	4	8	12	46		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	AIK	Elit		38	6	14	20	100		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	AIK	Elit		6	1	0	1	10		—	—	—	—	—
17 seasons	Career totals	NHL		1148	150	637	787	1344		81	12	37	49	91

International play

• Bronze medal at the World Championships in 1972.
• Silver medal at the World Championships in 1973.

See also

• List of NHL players with 1000 games played

External links

• Börje Salming's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Börje Salming's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Börje Salming – player profile and career stats at European Hockey.Net
• Anders (Börje) Salming's NHL player profile
• Legends of Hockey: Hall of Fame induction 1996