PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Chris Chelios has revealed that he once bit Tomas Sandström.
Something the Swede remembers.
– He was a seafarer at the time, says Sandström in an old interview.
Tomas Sandström, 59, is one of the most accomplished Swedes to have played in the NHL, and was once called one of the NHL’s most underrated players by the great Wayne Gretzky. He made over 980 appearances in the league. Meanwhile, he played in the clubs New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings. The latter won the Sandström Stanley Cup with 1997.
Sandström today
At home, he has played for Brynäs and Malmö Redhawks (then Malmö IF). Sandström made 77 appearances in Tre Kronor. He took part in winning the Olympic bronze in 1984 and won the World Cup gold in 1987, which gave the national hockey team the Gold of Achievement in the same year.
In 2002, a then 38-year-old Sandström retired from professional hockey. Today he works as a firefighter in Trelleborg.
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Once upon a time, the former NHL player bit Jarkko Ruutu the then Buffalo Sabers player Andrew Peters during a fight in a match. For that, the Finn was suspended for two games. The lenient sentence drew heavy criticism from the Detroit icon Chris Chelios.
– It set a precedent. Now everyone knows, being bitten only means two games. So maybe it’s worth it. It doesn’t feel like a particularly harsh punishment, Chelios told the Detroit News.
“Really squishy”
In connection with that, Chelios revealed to the newspaper that he once set his teeth in Tomas Sandström during a match.
– We fought and he tried to gouge my eyes out. It was a natural instinct. Plus the fact that it was him. He was probably one of the most hated guys playing at the time.
READ MORE: When Tomas Sandström called Wayne Gretzky an old bastard – and got the most unexpected answer back
When Sandström was reminded of the bite by Sportbladet, he remembered the incident.
– Yes, now that you say it. Chris Chelios was a seafarer at the time. But I don’t think I thought too much about it at the time, he told the newspaper in a 2009 interview.
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The Swede also took the opportunity to hit back against Chelio’s criticism that NHL players would start to bite because of Ruutu’s two-game suspension.
– It’s really badass to be bitten. I think it’s really more of a panic thing when you do it. Then you have to think about all the bacteria. Actually, it’s quite unpleasant and if several people start doing it, they will put an end to it. But I think it just happened, not that it was something that Ruutu thought about, says Sandström.
READ MORE: Sandström on the greatest moments: “I am reminded of it to this day”
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