Tomas Sandström (born September 4, 1964) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

-born

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) from

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

. Born in Finland, Sandström grew up in

Fagersta Fagersta is a locality and the seat of Fagersta Municipality in Västmanland County, Sweden, with 11,130 inhabitants in 2010. Geography The city is located at the junction of two railways between Ludvika-Västerås and Avesta (Krylbo)-Örebro, ...

, Sweden. A skilled

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

, he was effective when healthy but his career was marred by injuries due to his physical style of play. He was a member of the 1997 Stanley Cup winning

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

team, and assisted on

Darren McCarty Darren Douglas McCarty (born April 1, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward, best known for his years playing with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). McCarty has been known for taking on the role of th ...

's game-winning goal in the deciding Game 4.

Playing career

Sandström was selected 36th overall by the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

in the

1982 NHL Entry Draft The 1982 NHL Entry Draft was the 20th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1981 ...

. Sandström played 983 career NHL games, scoring 394 goals and 462 assists for 856 points, and also registered 1,193 career penalty minutes. Sandström won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

in 1997 with the

, assisting on

's game-winning goal in Game 4 of the

1997 Stanley Cup Finals The 1997 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1996–97 season, and the culmination of the 1997 Stanley Cup playoffs The 1997 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hocke ...

against the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

. After being acquired with

Tony Granato Anthony Lewis Granato (born July 25, 1964) is an American former professional ice hockey left winger and current head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team. He served as head coach of the United States men's national ice hockey tea ...

by the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

in January 1990 for former 70-goal scorer

Bernie Nicholls Bernard Irvine Nicholls (born June 24, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre, who played over 1000 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). His junior career was spent with the Kingston Canadians, where he established himse ...

, the two newest additions to Los Angeles combined with

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

to form a potent top line in Los Angeles. The line displayed its full dominance in the 1990 first round series against the defending Stanley Cup champion

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

, particularly in game 4, with both Sandström and Granato scoring hat tricks while Gretzky had a goal and five assists in a 12–4 rout. Sandström suffered through several serious injuries during his tenure with Los Angeles. In a February 28, 1990 game that set the NHL record for most penalties in a game with 85, he was punched by the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

Glenn Anderson Glenn Chris Anderson (born October 2, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, and St. Louis Blues. Ander ...

, leaving him with a broken cheekbone. A collision with Edmonton's Craig Muni caused a fractured leg in the 1991 Smythe Division Finals.

Doug Gilmour Douglas Robert Gilmour (born June 25, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for seven different teams. Gilmour was a seventh round selection, 134th overall, of the St. ...

of the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

slashed and fractured Sandström's forearm in November 1992. Sandström was a key component of the Kings' run to the

1993 Stanley Cup Finals The 1993 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1992–93 season, and the culmination of the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Los Angeles Kings and the Montreal Canadiens. ...

, after missing most of the regular season with a broken jaw. Sandström finished third in playoff scoring behind Wayne Gretzky and Doug Gilmour. On February 16, 1994, Sandström was traded to the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

along with

Shawn McEachern Shawn Kenneth McEachern (born February 28, 1969) is an American ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey player. He is the current head boys' varsity ice hockey coach at The Rivers School, an independent 6–12 school in Weston, Massac ...

, in exchange for

Marty McSorley Martin James McSorley (born May 18, 1963) is a Canadian former professional hockey player, who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 until 2000. A versatile player, he was able to play both the forward and defense positions. A form ...

and

Jim Paek Jim Paek ( ko, 백지선, Baek Chi-sun, born April 7, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, who is currently the director of hockey for the Korea Ice Hockey Association and head coach of the South Korean national team. Paek ...

On January 27, 1997, Sandström was traded by the Penguins to the

in exchange for Greg Johnson. He assisted on

's game-winning goal in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals. In August 1997, Sandström signed as a free agent with the

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: * ''Mighty'' (The Planet Smashers album) * ''Mighty'' (Kristene DiMarco album) * ''The Mighty'' (1929 film), a 1929 American action film *''The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy-drama film * ''The Mighty'' (comics), a DC Comics title *Th ...

, where he would spend the last two seasons of his NHL career. Today, Sandström works as a

firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

Skanör Skanör is a town in Vellinge Municipality and part of the conurbation Skanör med Falsterbo in southwestern Scania, Sweden. City facilities include hotels, restaurants, a harbour, a medieval church and an elementary school. A greenbelt called ...

, Sweden.

Achievements

*All-Star Selection, Forward, 1983 IIHF world junior hockey championships *Named to the

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

NHL All-Rookie Team The NHL All-Rookie Team is chosen by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association from the best rookies in the National Hockey League at each position for the season just concluded based on their performance in that year. The team was first named a ...

. *Selected to two NHL All-Star Games:

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

and

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

*In the 2009 book ''100 Ranger Greats'', was ranked No. 70 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons *Won 1997 Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandstrom, Tomas 1964 births Living people Detroit Red Wings players Ice hockey players at the 1984 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics Los Angeles Kings players Malmö Redhawks players Medalists at the 1984 Winter Olympics Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players National Hockey League All-Stars New York Rangers draft picks New York Rangers players Olympic bronze medalists for Sweden Olympic ice hockey players of Sweden People from Fagersta Municipality Pittsburgh Penguins players Stanley Cup champions Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Swedish ice hockey right wingers Swedish people of Finnish descent Olympic medalists in ice hockey Sportspeople from Västmanland County