Borje Salming

Jim MacDonald

Registered User
Oct 7, 2017
703
180
Hey everyone!

Tonight I wanted to ask/learn about Borje Salming as a player. What I've gathered so far is he had to take a lot of physical abuse when he arrived in the NHL (to test his meddle that he could hack it), and handled it fairly well. What type of game did #21 on the Leafs bring? I want to say I believe he was a defenseman. A hard shot? Good speed? The ability to read a play? Offensive defenseman or defensive defenseman? Liked by the Toronto fans, media and teammates?

I learned (through a book recently) he suffered a very grisly face injury here in Detroit when Gerard Gallant stepped on his face (unsure if this was accidental, in a scrum etc). He credits Red Wing physician Dr. John Finley with an incredible stitch job that left minimal scarring. Look forward to hearing from you all!-Jim
 

Big Phil

Registered User
Nov 2, 2003
31,703
4,144
Salming was well respected when he played and of course since. Lock cinch for the HHOF and one of the stars of the 1970s. Definitely good offensively and defensively too. Fought Dave Schultz at one point. And yes, that skate injury late in his career was accidental but just showed you how tough he was. Put him side by side with Joe Namath and they look very similar.

When people think about impact I think Salming comes to mind as much as anyone. There was a thread a while back talking about Willie O'Ree and his impact on hockey. I argued he didn't have a great impact on hockey as the next black player good enough to play in the NHL came 16 years later and there wasn't an overflow that came either. I credit the likes of Fuhr and Iginla more because they were stars and you can't tell me that of the black players in the NHL today that none of them didn't specifically appreciate those two.

Same can be said for Salming. If he isn't a star and can't hack the NHL then maybe there is a bit more of a delay. Look at what happened in the NHL just a few years later. When you think of the players that came to the NHL from the parts of the world they did after Salming broke the ice then you can see he made an impact. Peter Stastny is another one that comes to mind for that as well.

Ignoring all of that is he a HHOFer just on his own? Absolutely. I've been on these boards a long time and no one has ever thought otherwise.
 
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Jim MacDonald

Registered User
Oct 7, 2017
703
180
Salming was well respected when he played and of course since. Lock cinch for the HHOF and one of the stars of the 1970s. Definitely good offensively and defensively too. Fought Dave Schultz at one point. And yes, that skate injury late in his career was accidental but just showed you how tough he was. Put him side by side with Joe Namath and they look very similar.

When people think about impact I think Salming comes to mind as much as anyone. There was a thread a while back talking about Willie O'Ree and his impact on hockey. I argued he didn't have a great impact on hockey as the next black player good enough to play in the NHL came 16 years later and there wasn't an overflow that came either. I credit the likes of Fuhr and Iginla more because they were stars and you can't tell me that of the black players in the NHL today that none of them didn't specifically appreciate those two.

Same can be said for Salming. If he isn't a star and can't hack the NHL then maybe there is a bit more of a delay. Look at what happened in the NHL just a few years later. When you think of the players that came to the NHL from the parts of the world they did after Salming broke the ice then you can see he made an impact. Peter Stastny is another one that comes to mind for that as well.

Ignoring all of that is he a HHOFer just on his own? Absolutely. I've been on these boards a long time and no one has ever thought otherwise.

Very interesting and cool *big time thumbs up*
 

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