One of hockey’s great ambassadors has passed away at the age of 71. Borje Salming, who helped pave the way for many European born players, lost his battle with ALS on Thursday.
The Swedish born defenseman was diagnosed with the disease in April, however he did not announce it publicly until August 10th. Salming would go on to have a 1148 game NHL career, where he accumulated 150G and 637A for 787pts.
In 1996 he became the first Swedish hockey player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. 10 years later, his number 21 would be retired by the Toronto Maple Leafs for his tremendous on and off ice contributions to the city.
As recently as November 12th, Salming was in Toronto where he appeared visibly frail, however he mustered the strength to drop the puck for a ceremonial face off between the Leafs and Canucks.
An outpouring of support and prayers have been sent the Salming family’s way since news of Borje’s passing broke. However former teammates Dave Keon and Lanny McDonald shared especially poignant tributes.
“We played together in Toronto for two years when he came over (in 1973),” Keon said. “He was fearless, one of the forerunners of the Swedish wave of players who came to play in the NHL. Borje arrived with Inge Hammarstrom and he flourished. He met the challenge and he was successful.”
“For him to find a way, the strength and the determination to come over and be honoured, not only by the Hall of Fame but by the Maple Leafs. … What that team did for him and his family was phenomenal, fantastic and so appreciated by all of us,” said McDonald.
“The courage that it took when he first came to North America, to see him after a game. … Opponents abused him, his body was covered with welts, but he’d just say, ‘I’m fine, I’m OK.’ I think he knew what it was going to take to get through it. And oh my gosh, did he pave the way for so many other great players to be able to play in the National Hockey League.”
“That Borje came to Toronto this month tells a whole lot not only about the hockey player, but about the man,” McDonald said. “To summon up that strength … I’ll cherish those moments forever.”
“Especially now, we’re all so relieved now that Borje is at peace. To struggle the last six and a half months, and especially the last few weeks, how tough it was.”
Salming would ultimately play 1,099 regular season games with the Maple Leafs and established team records for assists (620), goals (148) and points (768) by a defenseman. The 6’1” defender would play a final campaign with the Detroit Red Wings in 1989-90 before retiring at the end of the year.
Photo: Frankie Fouganthin. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.