Maple Leafs pay tribute to a legend: ‘The win was definitely for Börje tonight’

Rasmus Sandin held back tears as he watched Börje Salming standing nearby at centre ice, being honoured by the Maple Leafs.

Sandin was among the six Swedes to line up in the Maple Leafs’ all-Swedish starting lineup against the Canucks on Saturday.

He shares a particularly close connection with Salming.

It started with lunch in Stockholm after Sandin was selected in the first round of the 2018 draft by the same Leafs that Salming began his NHL career with almost 50 years earlier. He and Salming continued to meet up, whether they were in Toronto or back in Stockholm. They talked on the phone.

They shared a bond.

The guy who carved the path guided yet another player who followed in his footsteps.

“He’s just been a role model. He’s a guy that you look up to,” Sandin explained to The Athletic after the Leafs rallied to beat the Canucks. “Just a class act. He sees himself as just a normal human being. He’s so humble. He’s a legend obviously, but you know, he doesn’t think so. He thinks he’s just a complete normal guy and just wants other people to succeed. Everything he’s done here, the history that he has with this organization, it’s tremendous obviously.”

Sandin felt all that as Salming, battling ALS and unable to speak, was honoured. The emotions were heavy.

“I think everyone here that appreciates everything he’s done for the city and for this organization, and for myself that has met him a bunch of times on the outside, it was tough to hold back tears for sure,” he said.

Salming came to North America, to play for the Leafs, at a time when that simply wasn’t done. He set the path that so many Swedes ultimately followed, including Sandin. He played 16 years for the Leafs, becoming one of the best defencemen in NHL history. He ranks fourth all-time among Leafs with 768 points and first with 620 assists. He’s tops among all Leafs defencemen in goals, assists, and points. He was twice the runner-up for the Norris trophy and even finished in the top five for the Hart Trophy in 1977.

Salming was the first European to play 1,000 NHL games. He made it clear that Swedes could be every bit as tough as their North American counterparts.

Salming had been cheered loudly when he was recognized a night earlier at the Hall of Fame game, standing beside and supported by fellow Hall of Famers Darryl Sittler and Mats Sundin.

“I thought it was something that warranted us touching on further tonight,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said of the initial tribute on Friday.

Keefe decided to start an all-Swedish starting lineup of Sandin, Timothy Liljegren, William Nylander, Pierre Engvall, and Calle Jarnkrok, with another Swede, Erik Källgren in net.

Nylander took the ceremonial faceoff opposite Canucks defenceman and fellow Swede Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

It was touching.

“Our players had a sense (Friday) night – if you didn’t know – you got a sense of how important he is here in Toronto,” Keefe said. “He paved the way for so many great European players to come and play here in Toronto.

“It made sense to pay tribute to him in that way.”

“It was special, it was very special,” Sandin said of the starting lineup tribute. “I had no idea that we were gonna start, and then when (Keefe) came in and said it was just Swedish guys that were gonna start, I mean, I was really happy about it. I couldn’t stop smiling. It was really, really cool.”

Salming is a legend like few others back in Sweden, Sandin said.

“It’s very few people, I would say, in Sweden, hockey players, that people recognize,” he explained. “It’s not like here. Toronto is Toronto. It’s the mecca of hockey pretty much. But Börje is definitely one of those guys that people recognize in Sweden. Wherever he goes, where there is hockey, he’s a legend, he’s an icon.

“He’s definitely someone people look up to.”

“Obviously he’s one of the biggest, if not the biggest one,” Engvall added of Salming’s influence back home in Sweden. “Especially coming here to Toronto, you see how big he is here. It’s just an honour to play for the same team as he did.”

As Salming walked off the ice, accompanied by family, each and every Leaf made sure to exchange a glove tap with him.

Nylander gave him a big hug after the ceremonial draw in a game that saw the Leafs come all the way back from a 2-0 deficit.

“That kind of stuff really hits you hard,” Auston Matthews said of the ceremony for Salming. “I think for us though to just see how a guy like Börje was embraced by the fans, and just what he did for this organization and his time here, and what he still means to this city — I think it puts a lot of things into perspective for us as players playing here. To have guys like him and others that have paved the way for us, it means a lot.

“You can just see it and feel it.”

“Happy we got the win,” Sandin added. “The win was definitely for Börje tonight.”

(Top photo of Pia and Börje Salming: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)