Leafs legend passes away shortly after his final visit to Toronto

At the beginning of November, Salming's doctors determined he was well enough to make one final trip across the ocean to participate in the annual Hall of Fame weekend in Toronto. As Salming was introduced alongside Mats Sundin, Darryl Sittler and a host of other Hall of Famers, he received a standing ovation from the fans at Scotiabank Arena that brought many, including Sittler, Sundin, William Nylander and Salming himself to tears as he saluted the crowd. The following night, as the Leafs played back-to-back, the night was all about Salming, as he was joined by his family at center ice for a tribute and another lengthy and loud standing ovation before dropping the puck for the ceremonial face-off between Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Nylander. To start the game against the Canucks, Sheldon Keefe opted to start an all-Swedish lineup featuring Nylander, Erik Kallgren, Calle Jarnkrok, Timothy Liljegren, Rasmus Sandin and Pierre Engavall to honour Salming and how he paved the way for Europeans in the NHL.

Salming played 1148 games with 1099 of them being the blue and white where he amassed 787 points and 1344 penalty minutes. Known for his toughness and skating abilities, Salming was the type of player that teams publicly noted they had to change their style of play for. Salming holds six career and single season Toronto Maple Leaf records including most career points by a defenseman, most career goals by a defenseman, most career assists (any position), most assists in a season by a defenseman, and best career plus-minus. He was the first Swedish and European player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996. He will be missed dearly in the hockey community, but his legacy will never be forgotten. Our condolences to the Salming family and his friends.

Rest in Peace, King.