PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Hockey legends Börje Salming and Nicklas Lidström were good friends.
But there is something “Lidas” never shared with Börje.
– I never told him this, but… says Lidström in Morgonstudion.
With almost 20 years age difference between Börje Salming and Nicklas Lidström weren’t they in the same hockey generation. But they managed to play together a little at the end of Börje’s career and at the beginning of “Lida’s” career.
Lidström and Salming
When Lidström returned home to Sweden after his career, the duo also became good friends. Today, Nicklas is an ambassador for the Börje Salming ALS foundation, together with, among others Mats Sundin, Ingemar Stenmark and Walter Skarsgård.
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This year, the players’ union NHLAA established the Börje Salming Honor Award, in English the Börje Salming Courage Award, in the Swede’s memory. The award is given to someone who has lived up to the same positive values as Börje, both on and off the ice. The first recipient of the award was Nicklas Lidström.
The words to Börje
The former Detroit Red Wings player received the award on Thursday in connection with the NHL being in Stockholm for the NHL Global Series.
– It is very honourable. It is a newly established award from the NHL Alumni Association who wanted to honor Börje and his name, and carry his legacy forward through this award. So I am incredibly proud to receive the award, says Lidas about the award when he visited Morgonstudion.
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Then Nicklas also admitted something Börje never got to know about him.
– Börje was an idol for me. I never told this to Börje, but when I grew up and was a little boy, I played Börje Salming on the ice when I was five or six years old.
– So to get the chance to play together with Börje in the early 90s, we were teammates. I was a young 21-year-old and Börje was 40 and very established. Until when I had quit and moved back home to Sweden and we became good friends with Börje. So it means a lot to me to receive this award precisely for that reason, says Lidström in the program.
READ MORE: Nicklas Lidström’s perfect pass to Daniel Alfredsson in pure Swedish – which makes all North Americans laugh
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