Börje Salming

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Anders Börje Salming (born April 17, 1951 in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden) was a Swedish professional ice hockey defenseman. 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 defensemen of his era. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996.

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

After the end of his active hockey career, Salming moved into the sports underwear business with his own brand Salming Underwear.

Contents

1 Playing career
2 Career statistics
3 References
4 External links

Playing career

Börje 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. He was signed as a free agent by Gerry McNamara of Toronto on May 12, 1973[link] and played 16 seasons for them. He played for Detroit Red Wings in 1989-90, and finished his professional hockey carer back in Sweden playing for AIK from 1990-93[link].

Börje became an immediate success in Toronto and was voted as the first star in his first NHL game [link]. 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 the first Europeean 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[link] in the NHL.

His maybe biggest moment was in the 1976 Canada Cup in his home arena when Sweden was playing against Canada, he got a standing ovation for over 5 minutes at the player introduction, longer than any of the Canadian players[link]. Börje 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."[link]

In 1996 he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as the first Swedish hockey player.

Career statistics

			Regular Season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
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
1978-79	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
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	SWE1	36	4	8	12	46	-	-	-	-	-
1991-92	AIK	SWE1	38	6	14	20	100	-	-	-	-	-
1992-93	AIK	SWE1	6	1	0	1	10	-	-	-	-	-
17 seasons	Career Totals	NHL	1148	150	637	787	1344	81	12	37	49	91

References

External links

[Fan biography - Börje Salming]

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