He began his professional career with TPS of the SM-liiga before being selected by the Ottawa Senators with their last pick in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.

After developing his skills with the junior club of his hometown, Turku, Finland, Salo turned professional with TPS of the SM-Liiga in 1994–95.

[1] He played in the first 3 games of the 1998/99 season before he was assigned to the Detroit Vipers, Ottawa's International Hockey League (IHL) affiliate, due to his first NHL injury and was recalled on 18 November 1998.

[2] Twenty-seven games into his rookie campaign, he scored his first NHL goal against Boston Bruins goaltender Byron Dafoe, a game-winner, in a 3–1 win on 21 January 1999.

[7] In March 2001, he was also cross-checked in the face by Rick Tocchet of the Philadelphia Flyers, suffering broken teeth and a mild concussion.

[7] In addition to missing the first three games of the season, he was later sidelined for a total of 13 more contests due to separate cases of the flu, a broken finger and back spasms.

[4] Salo established himself as a top-four defenceman with the Canucks, ranking fourth among team blueliners in average ice time per game during his first season with Vancouver.

[12] The club went on to capture the Le Mat Trophy as playoff champions, defeating Färjestads BK four games to one in the finals.

[15][16] He was limited to 59 games in the subsequent 2005–06 season, suffering a shoulder injury with the Finnish national team during the 2006 Winter Olympics, colliding with a teammate during a line change.

[4] Although he cumulatively missed 15 games, Salo still managed to have a career year, recording personal bests with 14 goals, 23 assists and 37 points.

[21][22] Late in the season, he avoided his pending unrestricted free agency by re-signing with the Canucks to a four-year, $14 million contract extension on 29 March 2007.

With an accumulation of injuries over the years, Salo spent the 2007 off-season recovering from chronic groin, back and shoulder problems.

[24] Shortly after returning, he was hit in the face by a clearing attempt from teammate Alexander Edler during a game against the Nashville Predators on 2 November 2007.

Early in the 2009–10 season, Salo suffered a medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprain to his right knee during a game against the Dallas Stars on 11 October 2009.

Towards the second half of the season, Salo took on a more defensive role, replacing Willie Mitchell, who was sidelined with a concussion, as the team's primary shutdown defenceman.

[34] On 9 May 2010, in game five of the second round of the 2010 playoffs, Salo was hit in the groin by a slapshot from Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Duncan Keith.

[35][36] He played through an undisclosed injury the following game, as the Canucks were eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks by a 5–1 score for a second straight 4–2 series defeat.

[39] Before returning to the Canucks lineup, he was sent to the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, for a conditioning assignment.

[41] Salo appeared in 27 games in 2010–11, recording three goals and four assists as the Canucks won their first Presidents' Trophy in franchise history as the best regular season team.

[4] The Canucks eliminated the eighth-seeded and defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks along with the fifth-seeded Nashville Predators in the first two rounds to qualify for the Western Conference Finals against the San Jose Sharks.

During Game 4 of the series, Salo set a Canucks playoff record for fastest back-to-back goals, scoring 16 seconds apart on a pair of 5-on-3 powerplays.

[45] Salo finished the season with nine goals, 16 assists and 25 points in 69 games as the Canucks won their second consecutive Presidents' Trophy before ultimately getting upset in the first round of the 2012 playoffs by the eighth-seeded and eventual Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings.

[46] When speaking of the signing, general manager Steve Yzerman announced he expected Salo to combine with Eric Brewer to "give our defense some nice veteran leadership for our younger players.

[50] On 13 December 2001, Salo was selected to the Finnish national team for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, along with Senators teammate Jani Hurme.

He recorded four points in six games before suffering a tournament-ending shoulder injury in a collision with teammate Ville Peltonen during a line change in front of the team bench.

[63] He idolized Jari Kurri and was more familiar with other Finnish players, such as Esa Peltonen and Heikki Riihiranta, than he was with any NHL stars.