Borje Salming : A warrior right to the end

The man who 'killed the perception of the Chicken Swede' and set a template for those who came after him made two final public appearances recently to say goodbye to his fans

Although he never won a Norris Trophy, Borje Salming was among the four best defencemen in the world six consecutive seasons.

When the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation held a gala last week to celebrate its 100th anniversary, it conducted a fan poll asking people what they thought was the biggest moment in the history of Swedish hockey. Remember, this is a country that has won 11 World Championships and two Olympic gold medals, the first of which was won by Peter Forsberg on a goal so spectacular that a postage stamp was made to commemorate it.

But none of those world titles, nor the 1994 or 2006 Olympics were the No. 1 moment. As far as Swedish hockey fans were concerned, the seminal moment for their country came on Sept. 7, 1976 on the other side of the world when a capacity crowd of 16,485 at Maple Leaf Gardens gave Borje Salming a stirring standing ovation prior to Sweden’s game against Canada in the 1976 Canada Cup.