Börje Salming passed away yesterday, at age 71, from the disease ALS. His influence on the game was immense, and while he wasn’t the first Swede to play professional hockey in North America, he was the first to make an impact.
A quality defenceman, in the body of a superman, Salming played the game with zeal and fortitude that totally dispelled the alleged reputation of Swedish players coming here to play.
His impact was immense. If not for Salming, you have to wonder how many Swedes would have eventually come to play here. Oh, sure they would have come… but as quickly?
And even though he was never a Jet, he had an impact here too.
Would Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg have been in Winnipeg to play for the Jets? Would the Little General Lars-Erik Sjoberg have patrolled the blue line for a powerhouse Jets team of the WHA?
Probably not.
No, Salming was an original. He played the game his way. He lived his life his way. The mythical stories of skiing in the morning and playing a game at night are true. He shunned the limelight of the NHL media for years, never comfortable speaking English, and letting his play do the talking.
So many great Swedish defencemen point to the man they called King as their inspiration. Ohlund, Hedman, Lidstrom, Karlsson — the list is endless. In fact, just saying he inspired defencemen is doing a disservice to his influence in the world of the Tre Kronor. The Sedins, Daniel Alfredsson, Mats Sundin, and so many more owe Börje Salming a debt.
Salming was one of a kind. He played the game with the spirit of a true Viking. He was as tough as they come, through his hockey career and through his life. It was so inspiring to see the hockey world salute his impact both in Toronto and Stockholm in the last few weeks.
And when the family announced that he would never be seen publicly again, after a massive celebration for 100 years of hockey in Sweden, we all know he had come back to Canada to say goodbye.
Börje Salming played the game the only way he knew. ALS forced him to face his own mortality, but in classic Salming style; he said goodbye, in his own unique fashion.
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