Tommy Salo
Tommy Mikael Salo (born February 1, 1971) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey goaltender and the current general manager of Leksands IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche, and previously served as 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 Cups 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 goaltender 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 pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft (used to select Radek Martínek). 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, Salo was traded to the Colorado Avalanche (along with a sixth-round pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft) in exchange for Tom  Gilbert. As NHL play was suspended the following season due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Salo returned to Sweden in signing a one-year contract with Modo Hockey of the Elitserien. After Modo was eliminated in the playoffs by Färjestad BK, Salo announced his retirement from professional hockey on March 17, 2005, citing chronic hip pain. However, on August 4, he returned to the Elitserien to sign with Frölunda HC. 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 Salo's salary. On August 11, the issue was settled after Modo withdrew their claim. By signing with Frölunda, Salo replaced the departing Henrik Lundqvist, who incidentally, had taken over Salo's starting position on the Swedish national team. On December 9, 2006, in an interview with Swedish newspaper "Expressen", Salo announced that he would retire from playing professional 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 GAA. 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. At 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. Sweden captain Mats Sundin berated fans and media for singling-out Salo, saying that "the entire team played subpar, a single fluke goal shouldn't cost us the game". Some would  claim that Salo was never the same after the incident. Coaching and executive career. Shortly after completing his playing career, on March 5, 2007, Kungälvs IK of the Swedish tier III league announced that 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 of Leksands IF. Legal issues. On 11 August 2020, Salo crashed his car into the middle railing on the E18 highway, east of Köping, Sweden . Police arrived to the scene and found Salo sleeping in his car. A blood sample showed that Salo was heavily intoxicated with 3.06 ‰ alcohol in his blood stream. On 20 January 2021, Salo was convicted for aggravated drunken driving and sentenced to two months in prison. Awards. International IHL NHL Elitserien