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Former Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman and hockey Hall of Famer Börje Salming has been diagnosed with ALS at the age of 71.
Salming released a statement through the team on Wednesday.
“I have received news that has shaken my family and me. The signs that indicated that something was wrong in my body turned out to be the disease ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.” Salming said.
“In an instant, everything changed. I do not know how the days ahead will be, but I understand that there will be challenges greater than anything I have ever faced. I also recognize that there is no cure but there are numerous worldwide trials going on and there will be a cure one day. In the meantime, there are treatments available to slow the progression and my family and I will remain positive.”
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Salming played for the Maple Leafs for 16 years and appeared in 1,099 games, scoring 768 points. His 768 points are fourth-most in Maple Leafs franchise history.
“Since I started playing ice hockey as a little kid in Kiruna (Sweden), and throughout my career, I have given it my all. And I will continue to do so.”
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Salming is honored on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Legend Row monument that is outside the team’s arena.
“In recent decades, we have learned much more about the cause of ALS, and it has been shown that ALS is not a single disease. Instead, ALS is probably a collection of subgroups that all lead to the same symptom picture,” Börje Salming’s doctor, Dr. Caroline Ingre, said in a statement.
Currently, there are 800 patients living in Sweden with ALS right now, and another 250 Swedes will receive an ALS diagnosis each year.
