The Blunder That Ruined A Players Career

[@idontgivetkachuk]

If you couldn’t tell, it was EXTREMELY hard trying to find Tommy a Salo clips haha! I did the best that I could! Hope you enjoyed!

[@dailymeme6476]

Great video man you’re so underrated. Storytelling format is on point kee it up

[@DJMoofasa]

Thats kind of funny to hear growing up a flames fan i saw him play alot in the battle of Alberta

[@uffeoboy5156]

He was Swedens best player in the game against Belarus. The pictures against Canada was og94 in Lillehammer, when Sweden won gold.

[@clonecommandermike332]

Where'd you find them?

[@Edmoilers100]

You missed the single number one cause of Salo's downfall. Why his play slid, why he became a drunk, why he was traded, all of it. Mike Comrie had an affair with Salo's wife. Edmonton fans if you remember for the remainder of that Olympic season were hiding signs saying Oilers fans shop at Leon's (Because the Comrie family owns the brick). It caused Salo's play to slide, he requested a trade out of Edmonton, and the reason he left North America all together and has never been back since.

[@jiitch]

wow. that’s horrible

[@JohnDaubSuperfan369]

Maybe Tommy would have been better off focusing his game on his woman, very easy to keep women at bay if you just eat ass every night, and eat it like you mean it. He was obviously drinking beforehand, there was definitely a reason for the wife to let Comrie splooge in her. Getting cheated on by someone you don't really look after anyway doesn't spiral your entire professional life out of control, even for a soft little swede like him.

[@shellygage2629]

he was my favorite as a kid. I probably have 25 of his Cards

[@mayhemofthasticks]

This is horrible to hear he was one of my all time favorites to watch in the 2000s even though I'm a stars fan and if they were not playing that day I would tune into the oilers to watch Salo

[@wildcat12000]

The goal from Belarus is actually with 2:30 left in the game, not into the third. International used to count going up instead for down.

[@idontgivetkachuk]

Thank you

[@jantaylor202]

Interesting, I did not know that 👍

[@Outta-hz1ej]

Sundin, Forsberg, Lidstrom, Alfredsson, Naslund, Zetterberg... So many hall of famers just to lose to Belarus. But they did erase this embarrassment by winning gold next olympics.

[@quinnrishor9237]

Honestly, of all teams, why was Belarus the strongest against them aside from the Salo blunder?

[@Outta-hz1ej]

@@quinnrishor9237 Nothing, they just choked. It was entirely mental.

[@quinnrishor9237]

@@Outta-hz1ej oh ok

[@bmir89]

​@Outta-hz1ej They choked, but Belarus also played a great game. Sweden destroyed Canada 5-2 early in the tournament. Belarus ending up being tied 3-3 with Sweden late in the 3rd - isn't something you just do by accident. They played a great game, and everyone saying "Sweden choked" - discredits that, implying Belarus had no business even being in that game, let alone winning. And in that case, you'd obviously be very wrong. Maybe Sweden wasn't really that good and Canada just choked early on against them - making Sweden appear stronger than they really were ? And if you want to argue the strength of Swedens roster, it doesn't have much relevance in an All-Star setting. That experiment has been long since tried and failed repeatedly back when the USSR used to come over and whip us/our Allstar teams.

[@davidsmart3514]

It wasn't the ridicule that ruined his career, it was because he became a drunk. It's known he struggled with alcohol abuse for years and if I remember correctly it cost him a couple of marriages and was recently sent to prison for drunk driving.

[@michaelkeller5927]

It started after his teammate Mike Comrie fucked his wife

[@ImmortalWombat]

He asked my mom out and this is why she rejected him. As a kid I never understood why she chose my loser father over an NHL player but I guess it makes more sense now....

[@36inc]

Gee i wonder why someone would turn to drink if youre being laughed at in yout home town

[@M-W-N-N]

LOL…You think he started drinking for fun? It was the ridicule that made him an alcoholic. He didn’t drink prior to that incident and he even became suicidal at one point. He was completely butchered and ridiculed for years here in Sweden. Many people would have gone a lot further than just drinking if they were treated the same way.

[@davidsmart3514]

@@M-W-N-N his drinking issue started before that incident.

[@tgs2141]

That Belarus vs Sweden game could be a whole video, I believe it’s called the Miracle In Salt Lake

[@idontgivetkachuk]

It was a crazy game!!

[@nolanmcleod2619]

I was watching this it when it happened. Was flabbergasted 🤯

[@1bert719]

Statistically Salo was actually still decent for Edmonton after the Olympics. What began his spiral was the affair his wife had with team mate Mike Comrie that ultimately led to Comrie being traded. Salo never recovered and he too was traded to Colorado.

[@jordangraff2254]

It was Pronger not Comrie

[@mitchellskene8176]

Pronger didn't get traded to Edmonton until Salo had already retired.

[@robins5798]

@@mitchellskene8176 Salo hadn't retired by then, he played in the swedish elite league where he took Frölunda to the finals in 05-06 after very stellar play. He retired after the 06-07 season.

[@mitchellskene8176]

@@robins5798 He was still retired from the NHL, so my statement still sort of stands.

[@edwardreflects8500]

Mike Comrie was the original Taylor Hall.

[@bb-gc2tx]

this was salos billy squier rock me tonight moment his career never recovered

[@SakicFan]

I went into this video thinking it was gonna be about Patrik Stefan's failed empty net goal against the Edmonton Oilers.

[@idontgivetkachuk]

😂😂😂

[@oilersridersbluejays]

That game was something else that’s for sure. I remember it perfectly. I remember thinking “oh boy we’re done now” and then he missed the net and Hemsky came back and tied the game. Unbelievable.

[@timomajere]

Dang I remember Salo. The was literally a hidden asset. Check it. Only one of his 12 NHL years had him with a GGA over 2.70 even if it was the dead puck era figuratively. For perspective, He beat Patrick Roy in seasonal GGA's for a few years, but he was always on mid teams.

[@oilersridersbluejays]

I don’t think this goal was what caused his confidence problem. No doubt it didn’t help matters, but that’s not why he lost his confidence. I’m assuming you’re probably in your 20s and were just a baby or not even born and forgive me if I’m wrong, but there is much more behind the scenes than what meets the eye. Mike Comrie, one of the sleeze bag players of the Oilers whom I never liked (up there with Shayne Corson and Jimmy Carson), was having a little too much fun with Tommy Salo’s wife. Mike Comrie eventually got traded. The official reason was that he wanted too much money to resign in Edmonton (which was true) but the unspoken second reason was the affair scandal. Mike Comrie’s dad owns (owned?) The Brick and a lot of people in Alberta and even here in Saskatchewan refused to buy anything from The Brick. I still to this day refuse to even step foot in one. Funny how something that happened 20 years ago isn’t easily forgotten.

[@jaymac654]

There's another reason that Tommy lost his confidence. If you know, you know.

[@oilersridersbluejays]

Any of us Oilers fans who have watched hockey since at least the 1990s definitely know lol. Sad really.

[@samssportsshop]

That was a great trade by the islanders to get Martinek because he was our best defenseman for years and my favorite player

[@pickford3152]

I watched Salo many times in the late 90s and 2000s, he is def a goalie that I remember fondly from my childhood..but as a goalie myself, I know how much the mental side of the game has an effect on your play..and if u r struggling upstairs, and playing without confidence it will def show on the ice

[@saturnotaku]

Many of the greatest goaltenders of all time have indeed fallen to a blunder. Or two. Or three. Just ask Marc-Andre Fleury.

[@idontgivetkachuk]

MAF has had some BRUTAL blunders haha

[@mikehartford4163]

2004 WJC, yikes!

[@NYR11949]

Mike Richter in the 1992 playoffs against Ron Francis and Pittsburgh, Series momentum changer. However, he did recover quite nicely.

[@frankdeboer1347]

But Marc Andre Fleury was able to bounce back time after time and remains one of the all-time greats in terms of overall careers.

[@chrish8229]

He has cups

[@Idelexplorer]

You show the "save" from 94 Olympics but you dont mention that he won the shootout for Team Sweden. Alot of ppl swedes included mention the Forsberg penalty but that dont mean shit if Salo dont stop Paul Kariya next. Also the dude was beast during the 98 world championship were Team Sweden won gold, Salo was named to the All star team. He had 7gp 5w 2L 1.84 gga 92.1 SV%. And his stats during his 35 Team Sweden games are pretty damn solid aswell. 75GP 48W 6Draw 20L 10Shutouts 1.86 GGA .920 SV%. So hats off Tommy you can be proud.

[@thejigzster8116]

Loved the vid man, keep it up!

[@idontgivetkachuk]

Thanks sm!!

[@darrellmackinnon1667]

*So in retrospective, this video was actually part 84 on why Mike Millbury was the worst GM.*

[@jks5325]

Thanks for having Denver Grizzlies in the video, those were great games back in the day

[@frankyaeger675]

As a lifelong Oilers fan I thought Tommy was pretty solid,far better than the goaltending we've been getting for several years now.

[@oilersridersbluejays]

Agreed. He had big shoes to fill when Cujo left and he did a very good job. Since him, we’ve had what? Only name that jumps out is Roloson and Markannen. I think Skinner is going to be great though. Campbell? God only knows.

[@panda4247]

A goal like that is random and every goalie (and every fan) knows it. He might have been made fun of, but there has to be some deeper reason for his career going awry. I am no expert on Salo, but when I read the comments, if those things are true, they will scar man's psyche much more than a goal like this, even if it was against Belarus.

[@aggronnn]

Rare Radek Martinek sighting, another common isles late round W

[@NYR11949]

Another fantastic video. Thank you so much for your hard work. Have a wonderful holiday season.

[@WarioSaysSo]

Tommy Salo got the s#it stick and really don't at all deserve what he took the following years of his career. Salo was in reality prior to the Og 2002 in Salt Lake City a very good goalkeeper who delivered season after season decent to near great numbers despite playing for weak NHL teams in the 90's and early 00's (Islanders (1995-1999 & Oilers 1999-2003) who never was near being a serious contender for the Cup. Salo was also a very loyal man for his country and participated EVREY IIHF world championship tournament between 1997-2003 = 7 straight tournaments after his team was either eliminated from the play-offs or missed it. And Salo helped his native Sweden win the 1994 OG gold + 1998 WC gold + 1997 silver medal + 1999, 2001 & 2002 WC bronze medals + 2003 WC silver in the back-up. And remember, prior to that disaster goal in the OG quarter-final match against Belarus, Salo had provided solid goaltending against Team Canada & Team Czech Republic in the tournament series. Yeah Salo and his family had for several years after 2002 OG a tough life with common attacks from people. I remember Mats Sundin & Nicklas Lidstrom was among those players who openly rejected all that and took a stand against bullying him. "It is just wrong. Salo should not be treated as the scapegoat for our loss. We lost as a team so we all take the same blame for losing that game". And more; "We should have won that game, but we got to high-and-mighty from our previous wins in the tournament so we just thought Belarus would not put up a serious challange against all of us. We had a great team, but when your mind is not all in, you can expect to lose against any team".

[@jmarx3943]

I remember watching that game. That was the biggest upset I've ever seen in hockey. On paper, Belarus should have lost 10-0. Team Sweden was accused of betraying their country. That game wasn't just Salo's loss, that was a whole team break down. I felt so bad for them. I'll never forget Mats Sundin doing the post game interview with Darren Pang trying to find words and holding back his emotions.

[@Outta-hz1ej]

Sundin probably had to squat to be eye level with Pang. He's 6'4" and Pang is 5'7"

[@RoyalMela]

That Belarus - Sweden was "Miracle on Ice" for belorussians. Vladimir Kopat is always fondly remembered in Finland.

[@Oxmen33]

Favorite goalie as a kid back when he was with the Isles.

[@richrealdeal6606]

Great video as always Paul!

[@idontgivetkachuk]

Thanks Rich!!

[@ML.80]

I started following hockey in the mid 90's and as a Swede I ofcourse had a eye on one of the few swedish goaltenders in NHL. I could rarely see any matches on tv. But when the World championship was on and our players from the teams that didn't make the playoffs in the NHL came home and joined the national team. Salo was always BRICKWALL! I remember how stunned I was over how good he was. One of my favourites for sure!

[@robins5798]

Salo had a great run in Tre Kronor between 1996 and 2002. His real drop off was the 2003 World Championship when Tellqvist replaced him during that classic 6-5 win against Finland.

[@oilersridersbluejays]

Matches? That’s a soccer term.

[@ML.80]

@@oilersridersbluejays Maybe in North America?...but I´m not north american.

[@RoyalMela]

That Team Sweden was loaded. Sundin, Renberg, Näslund, Alfredsson, Nylander, Dahlen, Zetterberg, Holmström, Sundström, Lidström... Belarus had...

[@matejtrnovec9144]

Salo also lost semifinals at WC in 2002. Sweden was playing home and they blew the lead against Slovakia and lost in shootout. Salo was broken after 2002 and it showed.

[@SoBelow666]

As an Oiler fan, I love Tommy. He's probably out last, great goaltender.

[@balzenhazelnut]

What about Roloson? He wasn't there very long but he basically willed the Oilers to the finals off his play.

[@mammoth-puppy3246]

I would argue that salo is probably the last good consistent tender Edmonton has had. Roloson was good, markenen was bad, everything from then until now has been a shit show. I knew the dubnyk trade would bite us in the ass.

[@Grivian]

I don't even know how many times I've seen the clip when Salo fails to save that slapshot. The news played it over and over again non stop. I also saw it live and it was shocking to say the least. We had very high expectations during this olympics since we actually beat Canada by 4-2 early on in the tournament. In my school we made bets on how much we would win against Belarus. Not what the score would be, the question was "How much will we win?". I think I wrote 5-1 or something. It the aftermath the news weren't very kind to Salo, we blamed him when in fact the entire team played bad. An absolute excellent team who decisively beat Canada. Yet on the first page in the newspaper there was a picture of Salo with huge text saying "I'm sorry"

[@dawgbone98]

The problem with this narrative is it ignores that Salo was mostly a below average goaltender his entire NHL career. Aside from 02-03, he was in the bottom half of starters in terms of sv% every year of his career. What he would do though was go through a couple of stretches where he was just lights out. The main difference between his 2000-01 and 2002-03/2003-04 seasons was that he had fewer of these lights out stretches and they wouldn't last for as long. Just as an example. In 00-01, he had a 12 game stretch where he posted 4 shutouts a 1.75 gaa and .930 sv%. He had a second of 16 games where he posted 4 shutouts a 2.00 gaa and a .925 sv%. The rest of the season he was near 3.30 and .885. In 02-03 he managed a 12 game stretch with 3 SO, 1.17 GAA and .945 sv%, but he never had a 2nd stretch that was noteworthy in a positive way. He was a very streaky goaltender and it bit him. I won't say the Belarus goal didn't impact him, I just think that he was probably likely to have a similar career trajectory regardless. He was an inconsistent, slightly below average goaltender.

[@frankdeboer1347]

You forget to mention that the teams he played for were also quite inconsistent.

[@Anonymous-gh6il]

This vid is a certified hood classic

[@idontgivetkachuk]

😂😂 thanks bud!

[@nonohockey]

Common W from Paul

[@idontgivetkachuk]

No… No U 😎🔥 ( see what I did there XD )

[@jimb.7523]

*Could be worse:* He could leave for the Olympics as a Salo and come back to the Oilers as a Binnington.

[@johanz1985]

You are missing some aspects of this. After the game, in interviews, Salo did not take responsibility of the loss. He told the press that it was a failed team effort. IMO, that is what his teammates should say, not him. After his career, he got the chance to coach, which ended in conflicts with team mngmt. There is also a DUI incident which led to conviction. Makes one wonder which state he was during the Belarus game, and the remaining career was effected in the same way. A really sad story in all ways. He was a 90's hero with the Olympic gold in Lillehammer and him being the key to World Championship Gold in 1998.

[@dalerockman5286]

The worst part of this story was that Salo played an integral role in 1994 Olympics, helping Sweden to win gold medal. Peoples got to realize that sport is a game, not a way of life

[@RoyalMela]

1994 Olympics were still amateur games, without NHL players.

[@dalerockman5286]

@@RoyalMela True but there was still players in 1994 with NHL experiences like Mats Naslund, Hakan Loob, Brad Werenka and Petr Nedved to name a few

[@emiljarengrim2536]

This moment stung a bit extra in the media because of the previous Olympics. Sweden won gold in 1994 and then in Nagano 1998 it was deemed a fiasco being knock out in the quarter final against Finland after a lackluster performance. 2002 was built to be a huge bounce back and when this happened some people went crazy.

[@ramuelcruzada3207]

Man, mental is really important to us. And also Mike Millbury is a bad bad GM. If you want a Brodeaur blunder, watch their playoff game 7 against Hurricanes (I don't remember the year)

[@wesmccauley5622]

“The downfall of the Florida Panthers”

[@NPIntended]

W Buhh dad plays Madden now

[@woodstocknun]

tied 3 - 3 in the third was the problem.. that game against belarus was one of those classic choke in the playoffs after being perfect in the round robin, everyone in sweden underperformed.. but salo became the scapegoat, because of how visual it was.

[@SimonNissen94]

Swede here for context, yeah i remember Mats Sundins interview after the game being so mad at himself and defending Tommy like a good captain should and told the media that the entire team sucked especially Mats himself and that Tommy don't deserve massive amount of hate he got, I chose to remember Tommy more for his save on Paul Kariya that won us the gold in 94 than our soul-crushing defeat to Belarus in 02

[@benjlar1902]

Same thing with Dan Cloutier when lindstrom ripped one by him from the redline. he was never the same after that

[@onkelkonkel86]

Shootout hero in the 1994 Olympic final between Sweden and Canada 🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪

[@clonecommandermike332]

I remember him being on some random European team in NHL 07.

[@JOBdOut]

There's a reason Salo still looked strong after the Olympics.. because that wasn't the cause of his falling apart in Edmonton. Problem is the locally accepted answer in Edmonton is considered hearsay and rumours around the hockey world. Do a quick search about "Mike Comrie and Tommy Salo's wife" - after the olympics and this affair - she left Edmonton and moved back to Sweden and Salo was never the same.

[@rileykazama3145]

Merry Christmas

[@kingstonhart7944]

Seet Geek is bomb

[@evolancer211]

I loved Salo, started with the Islanders right? Yup, Islanders lol

[@chad_b]

I remember seeing that happen when I was a kid. I was only 9 or 10 but I felt so bad for him lol

[@jayoakes7874]

Definitely in the hockey hair HOF

[@idontgivetkachuk]

XD

[@colerieger7300]

Man, that's not how I remember that goal. Thought he gloved it down over his head, don't recall the jump.

[@zilvertron]

He tried to glove it and dodge it at the same time, but ended up doing neither.

[@mitchellskene8176]

Given how well he played after coming back from the Olympics, I would say it wasn't the blunder that ruined his confidence. Something must've happened that offseason that ruined his confidence. Given that Mike Comrie held put and was traded, I suspect those Comrie and Salos' wife rumours have legs.

[@krazyFlipy]

If I remember correctly, Belarus had the lead both 2 - 1 and 3 - 2 in the game. A not at all undeserved victory...Salo's blunder or not. But of course, our schadenfreude over here in Suomi-Finland was immense :D hahaha :D Still is. :D

[@GateKeeper36]

I miss playing goalie, best time of my life. The feeling of adrenaline is amazing. A natural drug that makes you feel unstoppable. Before I started cause I started at 17. I always thought Tommy Salo was a unique goalie cause he only had 2 save selections he would spam. The butterfly like 99% of goalies except Martin Brodeur and just drop down to the side of his body. If he played like that in the current NHL, he would be released of his duties within 10 games. "Underrated" 👎👎👎4:51. That infamous goal is hilarious cause he was out above the crease and could of used the butterfly and the puck would fly over his head but he jumps up towards the angle of the puck direction.

[@alfiesmullet1311]

As a goalie.. that goal hurt to see.. it was a weird bounce at bad time in the game.. just unlucky

[@evanbasic347]

I train with mats lindgren

[@Chris-qo4rt]

A fluke goal like that shoudln't be enough for Belarus to win if Sweden had played well enough. Mistakes happen but it was unfair how Salo was singled out for that trainwreck of a game by the WHOLE team.

[@Cavelabs]

He sure did like to party a lot.

[@angushiltz4880]

I'm not sure the goal had as much to his fall as you make out. He had a drinking problem that he battled for a long time. And I believe there was his marriage problems that came into play and I think the drinking got worse after that. I think he had several DUI and ended up doing time also.

[@pontusbackman1863]

Too much of that loss was put on his shoulders. Sweden had 17 min to score a tying goal with a handful of HHOF-players... and should not even have been in that position that it mattered.

[@Pottan23]

Klockan tickar uppåt, det var 2:24 kvar av tredje

[@pontusbackman1863]

@@Pottan23 Just det, glömde ju. Oavsett så.. Borde inte Sverige varit i den situationen där missen gör sån skillnad så onödigt mycket skit på en person.

[@eliteotaku]

Salo was lucky facebook and twitter didnt excist during that time xD

[@MoneyHoneyBunny]

Considering how dominant Sweden was,,, Lidstrom, Forsberg, Alfredsson, Sundin, and so many other great players like 2 time Olympic gold medalist Kenny Jonsson who even played with Salo on the Islanders for example... it's definitely a shame 2002 ended the way it did. And of course they won the Olympics in 2006 which is sad for him. At least he could be happy for his country though! But that wasn't all on him. It shouldn't have even been a close game. If they were ahead like 4-1 and that happened, it wouldn't have mattered. I'm not 100% sure on this but I was looking at the stats, in 2002 Kenny only played 3 games for Sweden. So, did he possibly get hurt and miss that game vs Belarus? Cause that'd explain why they weren't playing as good. He was the 2006 best defenseman winner at the Olympics when they won! Shoot since we're talking about him, what about doing a video on him idontgivetkachuk? He's 1 of the only men to win a Gold Medal both before and after professionals were allowed at the Olympics, 94 and 06!

[@jordangraff2254]

Tommy Salo is by far my all-time favourite goalie.... Such an absolute workhorse and the franchise leader in shutouts.... BTW it was Chris Pronger banging his wife, not the Olympics that ruined him..... The Olympic Games are just when the world saw it.... Tommy is an amazing dude though 👌🏻

[@idontgivetkachuk]

He’s extremely underrated! Thanks for watching!

[@jordangraff2254]

@@idontgivetkachuk BTW, I messed up when I said Pronger.... It was Comrie

[@EricQmarvelous]

I enjoyed the video, but I would make one minor criticism. You use the word underwhelming about 4 times in this video, and it was noticeable.

[@idontgivetkachuk]

How underwhelming of me to say underwhelming so many times.. It must have been so underwhelming to hear me say underwhelming an underwhelmingly 4x.. Hope the video wasn’t too underwhelming and hope you enjoyed! XD ( just teasin ya bud. Thanks for watching! )

[@christyouredumb956]

Tommy salo won denver a chip. That’s all that matters

[@greenieparrot]

Pol kogan

[@kadekrauss3513]

Try some of Don Cherry’s old rock em sock em highlight DVD’s there might be some! Great video btw!!

[@EJ___518]

WWWW VIDEOOOO

[@idontgivetkachuk]

Thanks Eli!

[@charlielowell1319]

First

[@idontgivetkachuk]

Common Charlie W

[@TheJimmyStDenisShow]

I hope to get that sponsorship soon

[@lesterwhitehead4658]

Promo_SM