In 1992, prior to being selected for the Ducks, Salei played in his native Belarus for Dinamo Minsk in the Russian Elite League.

[3][4] During a successful spell with the Thunder, Salei was drafted by the Ducks and soon signed a three-year contract worth $2.25 million.

In October 1999, Salei was suspended by the NHL for ten games after he checked Dallas Stars center Mike Modano face first into the boards from behind.

[10] He was able to recover in time to lead Belarus in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, but was relegated as a reserve defenceman upon his return to the Avalanche, playing in a career-low 14 games.

[11] On August 9, 2010, the Detroit Red Wings announced that it had signed Salei as a free agent to a one-year, $750,000 contract worth an additional $350,000 in potential performance bonuses.

On July 5, 2011, Salei signed a one-year contract with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).