Tommy Salo Tommy Mikael Salo ( born February 1 , 1971 ) is a Swedish General Manager of Swedish ice hockey club Leksands IF of the HockeyAllsvenskan . He is a retired professional ice hockey goaltender and a former head coach of IK Oskarshamn . Playing career . Salo began his career playing three seasons in the Elitserien with Västerås IK . He was chosen 118th overall , in the fifth round , by the New York Islanders in 1993 . He debuted with the Islanders in 1994 – 95 , but would play the majority of his first two seasons in North America with New York ' s International Hockey League ( IHL ) affiliate , the Utah Grizzlies . Playing in the IHL , Salo won back - to - back Turner Cup s with the Grizzlies as league champions and earned the N . R . " Bud " Poile Trophy as playoff MVP in 1996 . In his first year , he was named both league MVP and rookie of the year in 1995 , in addition to First Team All - Star honours and a James Norris Memorial Trophy for allowing the fewest goals against . In 1996 – 97 , Salo emerged as the Islanders ' starting goalie and played in that capacity for the club until March 20 , 1999 , when he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Mats Lindgren and an eighth round draft choice in 1999 ( the Islanders used the pick to select Radek Martinek ) . Salo found his stride in Edmonton and was chosen to two All - Star Games in 2000 and 2002 . In 2001 – 02 , Salo recorded a career - best 2 . 22 goals against average ( GAA ) . On March 9 , 2004 , after six seasons with Edmonton , he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche with a sixth round selection in 2004 in exchange for Tom Gilbert . As NHL play was suspended the following season due to the 2004 – 05 NHL lockout , Salo returned to Sweden , signing a one - year contract with Modo Hockey of the Elitserien . After Modo was eliminated in the playoffs by Färjestad , Salo announced his retirement from professional hockey on March 17 , 2005 , citing chronic hip pain . Shortly thereafter , however , on August 4 , he returned to the Elitserien , signing with the Frölunda Indians . This led to a conflict with Modo since they had agreed to terminate his contract on account of his retirement . In light of this , the club appealed for Frölunda to pay for Salo ' s salary . On August 11 , the issue was settled as Modo withdrew their claim . By signing with Frölunda , Salo replaced the departed Henrik Lundqvist , who incidentally , had taken over Salo ' s starting position on Sweden ' s national team . On December 9 , 2006 , in an interview with Swedish newspaper " Expressen " , Salo announced that the he would retire from hockey after the 2006 - 07 season . International play . Salo first competed for Sweden in the 1991 World Junior Championships . He played in six games and posted a 3 . 32 goals - against - average . Several years later , he played an integral role in Sweden ' s gold medal victory at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer , Norway . Salo made critical saves in the gold medal game , as they defeated Canada in a shootout to secure Sweden ' s first Olympic gold medal in ice hockey . In 1998 , Salo once again competed in the Winter Olympics , as NHL players were allowed to compete for the first time . He played in four games as Sweden failed to medal . In the 2002 Winter Olympics , Salo started for Sweden once more and were favourites to win the gold medal , placing first in the round robin . However , in the quarter - final game against Belarus , with the game tied late in the third period , Salo surrendered a 20 - metre goal from defenceman Vladimir Kopat . The long slap shot puck bounced off Salo ' s mask after he had hopped , went up in the air , and bounced off of his back and into the net . Sweden would not recover and Salo was made the scapegoat in one of the biggest upsets in international hockey history . Team Sweden ' s captain Mats Sundin berated fans and media for singling Salo out asserting that " the entire team played subpar , a single fluke goal shouldn ' t cost us the game . " Coaching and executive career . Shortly after the completion of his playing career , on March 5 , 2007 , hockey club Kungälvs IK of the Swedish tier III league announced Salo would be their head coach for the next two seasons . Following his tenure with the club , he signed with IK Oskarshamn on March 12 , 2009 . On December 1 , 2010 , Salo left his post at IK Oskarshamn to become General Manager for his hometown club Leksands IF . Awards . International IHL NHL Elitserien