Legendary NHL defenseman Börje Salming, who was a fixture on the Toronto Maple Leafs blue line for 16 years, has died. He was 71 years old.
The Maple Leafs announced Salming’s death Thursday afternoon.
“Börje was a pioneer of the game and an icon with an unbreakable spirit and unquestionable toughness,” chairman and alternate governor Brendan Shanahan said in a statement. “He helped open the door for Europeans in the NHL and defined himself through his play on the ice and his contributions to the community.
“Börje joined the Maple Leafs 50 years ago and will forever be a part of our hockey family. Our deepest condolences go out to his wife, Pia, their children Theresa, Anders, Rasmus, Bianca, Lisa and Sara, and to brother Stieg.”
Salming was diagnosed with the progressive nervous system disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, earlier this year. He had been receiving treatment in his native Sweden.
A pioneering European star from the northern Swedish city of Kiruna, Salming played 1,099 games with the Leafs and ranks fourth among the team’s career scoring leaders with 768 points.
Former Toronto Maple Leafs players and Hockey Hall of Famers Darryl Sittler, left, Borje Salming, center, and Mats Sundin, right, participate in a pregame ceremony in Toronto, on November 11. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press) )
In 1997, he was voted one of the 100 greatest players in NHL history by a panel that included former players, coaches, executives and members of the media.
Salming’s No. 21 hangs in the rafters at Scotiabank Arena, after it was retired in 2016 alongside other Leafs greats Dave Keon, Johnny Bower and Doug Gilmour. He was also the fourth former Maple Leaf to be immortalized with a statue on the team’s Legends Row in Maple Leafs Square, along with icons such as Bower, Darryl Sittler and Ted Kennedy.
Emotional final tribute in Toronto
His importance to the Maple Leafs and the city of Toronto was exemplified by emotional tributes and standing ovations earlier this month as he attended Toronto games for the last time.
LOOK | Salming receives emotional standing ovation from Leafs fans:
Borje Salming receives a standing ovation at the NHL Hall of Fame Game
The longtime Maple Leafs defenseman received a warm welcome from the Toronto crowd as he battled ALS.
Salming’s strong two-way game made him one of hockey’s elite defensemen. He was also one of the most popular players in team history.
“Wearing the Toronto Maple Leaf jersey for 16 seasons was a great honor,” Salming said in part in a statement after his statue was announced in 2014.
“I always look back on my time in Toronto fondly and relish the opportunity to visit every chance I get.”
A pioneer
Former Maple Leafs captain and compatriot Mats Sundin previously said that all Swedes respect Salming and hold him in high esteem for his achievements.
“For us Swedish hockey players, he’s the man who showed us the right way; he’s a pioneer,” Sundin said.
While European players are now commonplace in the NHL and among the league’s biggest stars, it wasn’t always that way. Beginning in 1973, Salming helped open the doors to American hockey for his compatriots — once disparaged by hockey fans with the childish nickname “Swedish chicken” — thanks to stereotypes that they could not keep up with the physique of the Americans. game
Salming, left, holds Canadiens forward Yvon Lamber, right, as he chases the puck during a game in Toronto in 1981. (Gary Hershorn/UPC/The Canadian Press)
Salming helped annihilate that stereotype by not only surviving but thriving in the NHL, earning the nickname “The King.” In 16 seasons with the team before a final season in the league with the Detroit Red Wings, Salming amassed a career-high 620 assists, along with 148 goals.
He was also named to the league’s first all-star team once and to the second all-star team five times, which was also a team record. He earned enough votes for the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman in 1980.
In a statement Thursday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Salming was the first Swedish star to play in the league, and as “physically and mentally tough as he was skillful talent.
“He paved the way for many of the greatest players in NHL history as he broke all the stereotypes about European players that had prevailed in a League populated almost entirely by Americans before his arrival in 1973.” Bettman said.