PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Today we celebrate a real profile in Swedish hockey.
We congratulate Stig Salming on his 76th birthday.
Now he reveals why he never moved to the NHL.
Recent years have been incredibly tough for the legendary hockey defender Stig Salming. First he lost his wife Lena, then his little brother left Börje Salming tragically lost in the sequels of ALS and a short time later the mother Karin also fell asleep.
Salming’s career
Three people who meant so much to Stig in his life. The grief has been difficult for the tough hill that became known under the nickname “Stygge Stigge”.
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Although he has always been in the shadow of his younger brother Börje, who became one of the best defenders of all time, Stig Salming can also boast a fine hockey career. He won as many as six SM golds with Brynäs and salvaged a WC silver and two WC bronzes with Tre Kronor.
Börje’s advice to Stig
But it all started at home in Kiruna together with little brother Börje.
– We played hockey without skates in every imaginable backyard and often he was also involved. It was not only hockey but also wrestling, football and so on. It was an advantage that we guys in Kiruna had, this thing that we had the chance to do more sports at the same time. It is this versatility that we have benefited a lot from, older brother Stig tells HockeySverige.
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Despite a total of 387 matches for Brynäs and 81 international matches in the Tre Kronor shirt, there was still no move to North America. Unlike Börje Salming and many other Swedes who started playing in the NHL at the time, Stig Salming chose to stay in Sweden for the rest of his hockey career.
READ MORE: Stig Salming’s heartbreaking confession about the late Börje – the words that touch all Swedes
He now reveals why it happened and admits that his late brother Börje had a hand in the game.
– The WHA was running then and I received a request from there and also someone from the NHL. It would have required a lot of money if I were to break up with the family from Gävle to move to Canada then.
– In addition, Börje advised me against signing the contracts I got and he knew what he was talking about from all the experience he had gained over the years over there.
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