Börje Salming Anders Börje Salming ( born April 17 , 1951 in Kiruna , Sweden ) is a retired Swedish professional defenceman . He played for Kiruna AIF , Brynäs IF , the Toronto Maple Leafs , Detroit Red Wings and AIK . Known best for his years as a Leaf , Salming was one of the best defencemen of his era . He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996 . He was elected to the IIHF centennial All Stars team in 2008 along with Vladislav Tretiak , Viacheslav Fetisov , Sergei Makarov , Valeri Kharlamov and Wayne Gretzky . He is also important to the history of the NHL in that he was among the first European - born hockey players to have success in the NHL . As such , he was somewhat of a pioneer that has benefitted hockey fans who have since been able to enjoy the talents of other European stars . Playing career . Salming started playing 1967 – 1970 in the Swedish team Kiruna AIF in division 2 . He then joined Brynäs playing in the top division 1970 – 73 , winning the league 71 and 72 . He was signed as a free agent by Gerry McNamara of the NHL ' s Toronto Maple Leafs on May 12 , 1973 and played 16 seasons for them . He played for Detroit Red Wings in 1989 – 90 , and finished his professional hockey career back in Sweden playing for AIK from 1990 – 93 . Salming became an immediate success in Toronto and was voted as the first star in his first NHL game . In the first season he scored 39 points as a rookie defenceman and became Toronto ' s rookie of the year and the 3rd best rookie in the NHL . He was to become the first European player to make an impact in the NHL and made way for future players . He played 1148 regular games , 81 playoff games and scored 637 assists and 150 goals in the NHL . However , the peak of his popularity may have been at the 1976 Canada Cup in his home arena ( Maple Leaf Gardens ) , when Team Sweden was playing against the United States team . He got a standing ovation during the player introductions . Salming later commented " " I ' ll never forget our game in Toronto . The fans gave me a standing ovation during the introductions . I was representing my country and Canadian fans gave me a standing ovation . Sometimes hockey has no country . " On November 26 , 1986 during a game between the Leafs and the Red Wings in Detroit , Börje was injured resulting in facial surgery and more than two hundred stitches to his face . Late in the game when the Leafs were leading 3 – 1 , Salming was knocked down in front of the Leafs net , and Gerard Gallant of the Red Wings accidentally cut Salming ' s face with his skate blade . In 1996 he became the first Swedish hockey player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame . In 1998 , he was ranked 74th on List of 100 greatest hockey players by The Hockey News , the highest - ranked player from Sweden . On October 4 , 2006 , Salming ' s no . 21 , along with Red Kelly ' s no . 4 , was honoured and raised to the top of the Air Canada Centre by the Leafs in a ceremony before their first game of the 2006 – 07 season . Suspension . On September 4 , 1986 , Salming was suspended by the NHL for the entire 1986 – 87 season for admitting in a newspaper interview that he had tried cocaine many times before at parties . However , Salming served just eight games of the suspension before being reinstated .