Börje Salming at an Oldtimers game in Scandinavium
Born	April 17, 1951 (1951-04-17) (age 58), Kiruna, SWE
Height Weight	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 209 lb (95 kg; 14 st 13 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
Pro clubs	Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings
Ntl. team	Sweden
Pro career	1970 – 1993
Hall of Fame, 1996

Anders Börje Salming (born April 17, 1951 in Kiruna, Norrbotten County), nicknamed "The King", is a retired Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman of Saami extraction. 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 premier 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 significant to the history of the NHL in that he was the first European hockey player to have major success in the NHL which pioneered the way for other Europeans to play professionally in North America.

Contents 1 Playing career 1.1 Suspension 2 Retirement 3 Honours and awards 4 Records 5 Career statistics 6 International play 7 References 8 External links

[edit] 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 1971 and 1972. After making the all-star squad of the 1973 world championship, he was signed as a free agent by the NHL Toronto Maple Leafs in 1973.^[1] Salming was an immediate success in Toronto and was voted as the First Star in his first ever NHL game.^[2] In his inaugural season he scored 39 points as a rookie defenceman and became Toronto's rookie of the year and the 3rd best rookie^{[citation needed]} in the NHL. Salming went on the become one of the NHL's best defensemen and enjoyed great popularity, especially in Toronto.

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 received an extended standing ovation during the player introductions.^[3] 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."^[1][4]

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 Detroit Red Wings where he played one season to finish his career in the NHL. He completed his pro hockey career with AIK of the Swedish Elite League.^[2]

Salming has left a legacy of being the first European player to make an impact in the NHL and paving the way for future Europeans playing in North America. Prior to Salming the consensus among NHL managers was that Swedish players weren't tough enough to play North American hockey. He played 1148 regular games, 81 playoff games and scored 150 goals and 637 assists^[5] in the NHL.

[edit] 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 at parties. However, Salming served just eight games of the suspension before being reinstated.

[edit] Retirement

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 Galleryin Toronto, Canada.

[edit] 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 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.^[6]

• 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 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.

[edit] Records

• Holds 6 career and single season Toronto Maple Leaf records including most points by a defenseman and best plus-minus.
• Elitserien's most penalized player of season 1991–92

[edit] Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1970–71	Brynäs IF	Swe-1		27	2	8	10	24		—	—	—	—	—
1971–72	Brynäs IF	Swe-1		NA	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

[edit] International play

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

[edit] References

[edit] 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
• Börje Salming on Susning.nu wiki (in Swedish)
• Salming at The Sport Gallery

v • d • e IIHF Centennial All-Star Team Vladislav Tretiak (Goaltender) Viacheslav Fetisov • Börje Salming (Defencemen) Valeri Kharlamov • Sergei Makarov (Wingers) Wayne Gretzky (Centre)