Tommy Salo tops the big hockey gala at the Globes.
He is right about that.
That he’s not even nominated as one of the five goalkeepers of all time is amazing.
I have it second on my list.
Tommy Salo He has always had a hard time getting the recognition he deserves.
I do not know the reason.
But he was never the attractive type and could be considered a bit gruff on the outside.
He’s had his share of blows in life.
Now he’s getting another one.
Now I have to admit that many of my previous outbursts have been self-inflicted and I don’t take it as something of a defense. Especially drunk driving.
But he is certainly among the five greatest goalkeeping heroes of all time. I can’t understand how he pulled out of that discussion. It’s misconduct.
I followed Salo throughout his football career and even managed to work as an interpreter on the ice after the Olympic final in Lillehammer.
The beginning of the Cinderella story
The tournament, which became his great achievement and the beginning of the Cinderella saga.
He came to the Olympics as the third goalkeeper, but coincidences and the birth of children meant he quickly progressed to first place at Tre Kronor in Curre Lundmark.
He stayed there until the end which couldn’t be happier.
It wasn’t Foppa’s penalty that decided the Olympic final against Canada.
When Tomi Salo took Paula Kariya’s last penalty kick, the Swedes were Olympic champions.
But this is just the beginning.
The penalty save earned him an NHL contract with the New York Islanders and when most thought he would soon be home again, he stayed.
for ten seasons.
Fight for a place as the first goalkeeper there too.
Now it has nothing to do with Swedish hockey and the celebration of 100 years.
But when it comes to Trey Kronor, Tommy Salo is probably the most loyal of them all.
He would come every time he was called.
There have been a total of seven WC tournaments in his ten total seasons in the USA and Canada.
He was one of the best goalkeepers in every tournament.
At WC Zurich, he kept two clean sheets in successive finals against Finland, when the golden match was decided in a best-of-two match during a short spell of test lust.
No, Tomi Salo’s loyalty and merits in blue and yellow meant he should have been nominated among the five goalkeepers.
I just created a second squad in my Tre Kronor in those times and had Salo as a goalkeeper.
I admit it required a moment of reflection and weighing the pros and cons, as it was close to a dead heat between him, Liv “Honken” Holmqvist and Becca Lindmark.
Then I’m still old enough to follow the last two throughout their careers.
Pekka and Honken were both great in their time and stood in three crowns in each decade, never being threatened as first-choice goalkeeper.
To some extent due to the fact that the competition was not so intense at that time.
Also, it was a completely different goalkeeping game back then.
Everyone loved him
Pelle Lindbergh, who won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goaltender in 1985, had no chance of scoring an NHL goaltender today.
In addition, completely outdated with its boyish dimensions and 175 cm. Evolution went in a completely different direction and today’s goalkeepers look like basketball players.
I also knew Billy from my childhood and he was such a wonderful person as a goalkeeper.
Meaningless talent. Everyone loved him.
But I also remember when I called him “Bill Chancelos” after a game against the Soviet Union in the 1983 World Cup. Even he couldn’t stand Larionov, Krutov, and Makarov.
Also, he had a very short career to be among the favorites, as he died tragically in a car accident at the age of just 26.
In addition, the achievements in the few international matches and tournaments he managed in Tre Kronor were missing.
After all, we are talking about Swedish hockey and the Federation celebration.
Not the NHL’s.
And, as you can see, I didn’t even mention Tommy Salo’s fatal failure against Belarus in the 2002 Olympics. Which he’s had to live with ever since.
This time it was Al Ittihad who scored an own goal.