Salming, who signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 12, 1973, became the first player born and trained in Europe to skate in 1,000 NHL games, on Jan. 4, 1988. In 1996 he became the first NHL player from Europe to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and was named one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players as part of the League’s centennial in 2017.
Salming played 16 of his 17 NHL seasons with the Maple Leafs (1973-89) before finishing his career with the Detroit Red Wings in 1989-90. He had 787 points (150 goals, 637 assists) in 1,148 games.
“When Borje came over, there were very few Europeans playing in the National Hockey League,” Healy said. “He was a pioneer. He played with courage. If you don’t think that the Broad Street Bullies (Philadelphia Flyers) and the New York Rangers were trying to take a piece out of him, you didn’t watch any of the game films. But he remained composed and paved the road for many other European players to come and play in the NHL.
“Matt Sundin’s the last award winner of the Courage Award. When he came in the League, there were 10 Swedish players playing in the NHL. Last year, there were 92 that started the season. So to me, he’s a trailblazer.
“It’s about legacy. And the watch, which generates money for charity, is about legacy. And that’s what this hall is about, what Borje was about, and what he did for future players to come to the League.”