Börje Salming changed the world of hockey – when he arrived and when he left.
It might never be the same again.
It’s been a whirlwind of months, weeks, not least days.
Since news broke in August that Porgy Salming had ALS, nothing has really been the same.
I have followed hockey at different levels and from different angles for at least 40 years and can say without hesitation that I have never witnessed anything like it.
Not even anything close.
Caring, commitment, and above all, grief and compassion were on a whole new level.
Börje Salming’s career and significance, not least the fight against a very cruel disease, affected everyone. Even those who wouldn’t normally be interested in ice hockey, or what goes on around it, were drawn in.
Just having a minute of silence before the second period should be unique. Which happened in all SHL games last Thursday.
A red rose on the club’s badge
In Round 21 today, the honors continue.
There I was myself in what was once called Gavlerinken, the arena that had Börje Salming as his home when he rose to the elite level in 1970. After three seasons at Brynäs, the primal strength of Kiruna could no longer be stopped from making the step to hockey’s biggest stage .
Already in the entrance hall of the yard of the former Salming house, there was a memory book where anyone who wanted could write their tributes or memories of the hockey legend.
Older brother Stig was in the ring.
During the pre-relegation memorial, team captain Anton Rudin placed a red rose symbol as Brynä’s club crest was painted on the ice. Longtime broadcaster Kenth Larsson, who has sat with the secretaries since he was a young boy and who actually became announcer during Börje Salming’s days at the club, usually never gets over it. When he was about to give his impassioned speech about Börje, he did just that – shake his ass off. It moved noticeably and I took tears in my throat.
Like I said: the impression Porgy Salming made really cannot be overstated.
A minute’s silence was followed by a standing ovation before the standing crowd chanted BÖRJE and the seated crowd filled with SALMING.
Beautiful and powerful in the midst of tragedy
Everywhere in Sweden on the dark Saturday in November, the focus is on honoring. From Malmo in the south to Kiruna in the north. Badges on helmets, tribute films on jumbotron banners, mourning ribbons, cheers, and fundraisers.
I have to admit I was a little upset when news came out that Porgy Salming would be at the Toronto Honors and Hockey Awards.
Extreme suffering and imminent death is not something we are used to being exposed to openly and nakedly.
But she was gracious, beautiful, and strong in the midst of all the tragedy.
What an unparalleled fighter to the last. When even the strongest ice hockey player dared to show himself weak and weak … Yes, then stereotypes are broken and mossy walls are demolished.
In the same way that Porgy Salming with his tenacity tore off all the taboos that Swedes cannot play in the National Hockey League, he has now shattered once and for all the myth that no one should show himself weak.
Even when Börje was healthy, his importance to ice hockey in general and Swedish ice hockey in particular was difficult to overestimate.
After his death, it certainly cannot be measured.
Hockey came in second
Under the massive tribute to Börje Salming, the SHL circus continues.
Up front, perhaps the most interesting match of the tour was played precisely in Gavle, where the home team faced HV71. But no matter how the points were distributed, it wasn’t interesting, well-done, or exciting. Rather sleepy event, not least from Brynäs. I don’t know if the emotional celebration before landing accompanies the home team players on the ice.
The HV71 got the match exactly where they wanted it against a energetic local team and could easily and deservedly claim a sure victory. The score was 5-1 in the end.
After seven consecutive winless away games in regular time, HV71 have now lined up two of their three-pointers away in the space of five days.
The newcomer also handed over the somewhat subscribed jumbo spot all fall to Oskarshamn. Brynäs is suddenly only six points out of the qualification zone, even though Gävle’s side have played one more game than both Oskarshamn and HV71.
The drama that two teams are forced to qualify for will continue until the series finale.
With a score of 0-4 and nine minutes left, both teams turned heel to “BÖRJE – SALMING”
On this particular evening, the hockey fights and playoffs really came second.
