Mats Sundin before the tribute match and about his relationship with Porgy Salming
Mats Sundin is on site in Gavle to honor Porgy Salming.
For Sportbladet, the former Toronto captain talks about their relationship, which has stretched far beyond the ice hockey rink.
– Börje was like a mentor to me during these years at the Maple Leafs, says Sundin.
Mats Sundin, 51, is one of the all-stars who will play the tribute game to Borey Salming. On one side is legends Tre Kronor, and on the other is a team that includes players like the Toronto Maple Leafs. A break from everyday life, which, for Sundin’s sake, was now very little in relation to his ice hockey.
As a father of three to Bonnie, 10, Nathanael, 8, and Julian, 6, the former hockey star has no major issues with free time:
– No, there is no shortage of things to do during the day. There is a lot of sport for them, even ice hockey. But bad hockey coaching is on his side, he says with a smile.
Middle child Nathanael recently started ice hockey:
– He wasn’t very interested before, but last fall he said he wanted to start “Okay, then we’ll do it.”
Mats Sundin played 18 seasons in the NHL, including 13 consecutive years in Toronto. With today’s dollar exchange rate, the Swedish hockey icon has earned more than 1 billion kroner. Since his career ended almost 14 years ago, Sundin has kept a low profile and rarely gives any interviews.
But when his role model and mentor, Porgy Salming, is celebrated, Sundin gives interviews and gets on the ice again. At the player’s hotel in the center of Gävle, Sportbladet will sit for a while with Sundin.
– I think it’s a very nice arrangement. When I drove to Yavle, I saw signs from the municipality of Yavle announcing a borghi match. I heard they sold out all the tickets. There is also a huge turnout from all the Tre Kronor legends who are here. Even the Toronto players are here with almost an entire squad traveling here for Börje and also for the chance to highlight this terrible disease. It’s really nice to be here, says Sundin.
He came to Toronto five years after Börje
Is it obvious to you to be here?
– Yes, Porgy has meant a lot to Swedish hockey. As a player, it was he who paved the way the most. The NHL was very protective at the time, and North American players thought it was their league. Then there was a European, as well as a Swede, who was incredibly talented and gained tremendous strength during his time there. He became one of the absolute best players in the league and one of the biggest stars. In Maple Leafs too. The strongest hockey club in the world. Like Barcelona, Real Madrid or New York Yankees. Maple is truly an institution.
Aside from ending up with the Detroit Red Wings, Börje Salming was affiliated with the Maple Leafs from the time he left Brynäs in 1973 and then for 16 consecutive seasons. It has become an icon in the city known as the Mecca of Hockey.
– He became an incredibly valuable player, but in my eyes he was a kinder person on the ice side. A wonderful person in every way. Down to earth and never saw himself as something bigger than everyone else on the team. He had an incredibly nice personality and took all the fame he had into his ice hockey career, Sundin says.
Porgy Salming finished his career in Toronto in 1989, and five years later Sundin came to town after his first four seasons in Quebec.
– For me personally, it was important when I arrived in the mid-nineties. I called Börje and talked about expectations. Then he was like a mentor to me, someone to turn to if there was anything about Toronto. When, a few years later, I was asked to be team captain, Porgy was the obvious person I called and asked how I should stand.
“You helped me a lot especially”
And what did Porgy say?
– “You have to say yes, of course.”
Why?
– He told me that he was asked to be the captain of the team and thought about it but turned it down and regretted it a bit. He said, “Now you have to accept.”
Since then, the two Swedish hockey stars had a special relationship until Borgy’s death in the ALS wards on November 24 last year.
– Apart from the hockey part, he is from Kiruna and I have my roots in Tornedalen and I love fishing. We also shared a close interest in nature. Among other things, he put me in contact with a person in the Talma Sami village named Piu 27 or 28 years ago, Sundin says.
– I asked Börje if he knew of any good places on the mountain where you can fish for trout and char. Bureh replied, “I’ll see what to do.” Then I reached out to this guy, as he is now, and we’ve been friends for 28 years. I actually spoke to Peo on the way to Gävle and he said he would check The tribute match is tomorrow (read: today). Borgy has meant a lot as an ice hockey player but he has also helped me a lot on a private level.
Toronto captain
Mats Sundin was alongside Porgy Salming in one of his last appearances, in connection with the on-ice honors at the Air Canada Centre. The photos pose with Sunden and ex-Salmings captain Darrell Sittler on each side of the seriously tortured hockey icon.
– it was hard. Such a terrible seven and how fast things go. But it feels so good to be there this weekend and also to be there this weekend.
The “Game for Börje” tribute game is taking place at the ERP Monitor Arena between veteran teams from Tre Kronor and the Toronto Maple Leafs, with Mats Sundin as the captain and Daryl Sittler standing in the booth. All proceeds go to ALS research.
– A great opportunity to shed light on a disease that combats major public diseases in terms of research funding. We really hope this weekend helps shed some light on that. We hope you will contribute financial assistance to move the research forward, says Mats Sundin.