PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Börje Salming was hot on the market after his success in Brynäs in the 1970s.
NHL teams were lining up to get his signature – and they were prepared to go to great lengths to succeed.
The clubs were so keen to sign Salming that they offered money to the then Brynäs coach.
Börje Salming played three seasons in Kiruna AIF before signing for Brynäs in 1970. Once there, it was a great success since the club won two straight SM golds. He also made a big impression in the national team, and during his first years in Tre Kronor in 1972 and 1973, he first won WC bronze, which was followed up with a silver the following year.
Huge interest
In 1973, Salming was signed to the NHL and the Toronto Maple Leafs. But there were not entirely unexpectedly more interested parties than that given his achievements. Among the teams that showed great interest in his signature were the Quebec Nordiques and also the Los Angeles Kings.
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And Quebec and Los Angeles worked hard to attach Salming. According to a Swedish newspaper, Quebec must have contacted Brynäs’ then coach Tommy Sandlin and offered him ten percent of the transfer fee if Börje Salming signed for the club.
READ MORE: The Toronto Swede’s enormous tribute to Börje Salming – now honored with crazy detail: “Börje had loved it”
Was offered money
Sandlin is said to have also been offered ten percent of Salming’s income – forever. But Los Angeles also had a proposal. But instead of going through trainer Tommy Sandlin, they targeted Björn Norell who at the time worked at the Swedish Ice Hockey Association.
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Los Angeles offered Norell a sum of 50,000 kroner if he persuaded Salming to sign for the club. A sum that today would have been just under 400,000 Swedish kronor. As is well known, it was neither Quebec nor Los Angeles for Börje Salming, who instead chose to sign for Toronto.
READ MORE: That’s how much Swedish hockey took in – during the tributes to Börje Salming: “Says a lot about the power that exists”