Börje Salming

Anders Börje Salming (born April 17, 1951 in Kiruna, Sweden) is a retired Swedish professional defenceman. He played for Kiruna AIF, Brynäs IF, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and AIK.

Known best for his years as a Leaf, Salming was one of the best defencemen of his era. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996. He was elected to the IIHF centennial All Stars team in 2008 along with Vladislav Tretiak, Viacheslav Fetisov, Sergei Makarov, Valeri Kharlamov and Wayne Gretzky.

He is also important to the history of the NHL in that he was among the first European-born ice hockey players to have success in the NHL. As such, he was somewhat of a pioneer that has benefitted ice hockey fans who have since been able to enjoy the talents of other European stars.

Playing career
Salming started playing 1967–1970 in the Swedish team Kiruna AIF in division 2. He then joined Brynäs playing in the top division 1970–73, winning the league 71 and 72. He was signed as a free agent by Gerry McNamara of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs on May 12, 1973 and played 16 seasons for them. He played for Detroit Red Wings in 1989–90, and finished his professional hockey career back in Sweden playing for AIK from 1990–93.

Salming became an immediate success in Toronto and was voted as the first star in his first NHL game. In the first season he scored 39 points as a rookie defenceman and became Toronto's rookie of the year and the 3rd best rookie in the NHL.

He was to become the first European player to make an impact in the NHL and made way for future players. He played 1148 regular games, 81 playoff games and scored 637 assists and 150 goals in the NHL.

However, the peak of his popularity may have been at the 1976 Canada Cup in his home arena (Maple Leaf Gardens), when Team Sweden was playing against the United States team. He got a standing ovation during the 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."

On November 26, 1986 during a game between the Leafs and the Red Wings in Detroit, Börje was injured resulting in facial surgery and more than two hundred stitches to his face. Late in the game when the Leafs were leading 3–1, 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.

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 List of 100 greatest hockey players by The Hockey News, the highest-ranked player from Sweden.

On October 4, 2006, Salming's no. 21, along with Red Kelly'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.

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 many times before at parties. However, Salming served just eight games of the suspension before being reinstated.

Awards & Achievements

 * Named to the All-Star Team at the World 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 NHL) in 1976, 1977 and 1979.
 * 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.
 * Played for Team NHL in the 1979 Challenge Cup.
 * IIHF centennial All Stars team in 2008.

Records

 * Holds 6 career and single season including most points by a defenseman and best plus-minus.

International play

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