Peter Forsberg: An Avalanche Risk
Posted 9:28 PM ET | Comments 16
As a fan of the Colorado Avalanche since they moved to Denver, it's easy to know why I hold a special place for Peter Forsberg. How can I forgot Forsberg missing the entire 01-02 season only to return and become arguably the best player in the playoffs? Then there's the magic that Forsberg captured along with Milan Hejduk in the 02-03 where he won the Hart Trophy and helped Hejduk en route to a 50 goal season. After he left Colorado and returned to where it all should have started, he still put up good numbers despite more injuries and the Flyers less than stellar season last year. Now that we're over a week into the NHL Free Agency period, the guy who should be getting paid Drury, Gomez, Briere, and Smyth money is still sitting pretty.
According to Eklund here at HockeyBuzz, 3 teams are interested in Forsberg: Philly, Detroit, and Vancouver.
*Philadelphia Flyers: When they traded Forsberg near the deadline last season, they knew there was always a chance that he would return in the off-season. But after signing Briere to a big contract, picking up Jason Smith, Joffrey Lupul, Kimmo Timonen, and Scott Hartnell, and Teemu Selanne rumored to be signing there any day now, one has to wonder how much cap the Flyers will exactly have for Forsberg. Of course if the Flyers want him and Forsberg wants to be there they will work out a deal but will they go further this time around?
*Detroit Red Wings: Why? After all the history between the Avs and the Wings, why? I know the rivalry isn't what it once was but we have to remember that outside of Claude Lemieux, Peter Forsberg was the next Wings target. Maybe it's my dislike for the Red Wings that never wants to see #21 in Red & White and playing at the Pepsi Center in Red & White but I just can't see this happening and if it does happen, I don't know if I could accept it.
*Vancouver Canucks: One word, Markus Naslund. It seems obvious that Naslund would be the selling factor for Forsberg to come to Vancouver. Of course the Nucks need scoring help and when he's healthy, Forsberg will provide that but if Naslund wasn't in Vancouver, this wouldn't be talked about. The thing is, these two had their chance to unite in the NHL a few years ago and they passed on it. The circumstances are a bit different now but if Forsberg were to go to Vancouver, could he handle the top line workload, something I think he wants to get away from.
So based on those three options I think Philly would be the best fit for both the team and Forsberg. That is of course if Francois Giguere is serious about not bringing back Forsberg. Now if Francois decides to take the risk on Peter, I can't see why he wouldn't want to return to Denver. I give the following reasons:
*Playing as a Wing: With Paul Stastny and Joe Sakic likely playing as the top two centers, it would seem certain that Forsberg would occupy a wing spot, meaning he wouldn't have to work as hard on the defensive end, meaning he won't have to worry with the down low battles.
*Familiarity: He knows the city, he knows the fans, he knows the organization, and he knows some of the players. I suspect it wouldn't take him long to re-create the magic that he once had with Milan Hejduk.
*Shot at the Cup: Now I know the Wings, Nucks, and Flyers all have good chances of making the playoffs and thus competing for the Cup but I like the Avs chances just as much. The Wings are continuing to age and this could be the season that they show that age, the Nucks are going to go as far as Luongo carries them, and the Flyers always seem to fall short of expectations.
*Scott Hannan: Come on, you know Peter would love the fact that he won't have to see Hannan x number of times a year after his battles with him in the playoffs.
So while Giguere has expressed that Forsberg will most likely not be back, I say if he's willing to take a reasonable amount of money, he's worth the risk as the reward could be much higher.
According to Eklund here at HockeyBuzz, 3 teams are interested in Forsberg: Philly, Detroit, and Vancouver.
*Philadelphia Flyers: When they traded Forsberg near the deadline last season, they knew there was always a chance that he would return in the off-season. But after signing Briere to a big contract, picking up Jason Smith, Joffrey Lupul, Kimmo Timonen, and Scott Hartnell, and Teemu Selanne rumored to be signing there any day now, one has to wonder how much cap the Flyers will exactly have for Forsberg. Of course if the Flyers want him and Forsberg wants to be there they will work out a deal but will they go further this time around?
*Detroit Red Wings: Why? After all the history between the Avs and the Wings, why? I know the rivalry isn't what it once was but we have to remember that outside of Claude Lemieux, Peter Forsberg was the next Wings target. Maybe it's my dislike for the Red Wings that never wants to see #21 in Red & White and playing at the Pepsi Center in Red & White but I just can't see this happening and if it does happen, I don't know if I could accept it.
*Vancouver Canucks: One word, Markus Naslund. It seems obvious that Naslund would be the selling factor for Forsberg to come to Vancouver. Of course the Nucks need scoring help and when he's healthy, Forsberg will provide that but if Naslund wasn't in Vancouver, this wouldn't be talked about. The thing is, these two had their chance to unite in the NHL a few years ago and they passed on it. The circumstances are a bit different now but if Forsberg were to go to Vancouver, could he handle the top line workload, something I think he wants to get away from.
So based on those three options I think Philly would be the best fit for both the team and Forsberg. That is of course if Francois Giguere is serious about not bringing back Forsberg. Now if Francois decides to take the risk on Peter, I can't see why he wouldn't want to return to Denver. I give the following reasons:
*Playing as a Wing: With Paul Stastny and Joe Sakic likely playing as the top two centers, it would seem certain that Forsberg would occupy a wing spot, meaning he wouldn't have to work as hard on the defensive end, meaning he won't have to worry with the down low battles.
*Familiarity: He knows the city, he knows the fans, he knows the organization, and he knows some of the players. I suspect it wouldn't take him long to re-create the magic that he once had with Milan Hejduk.
*Shot at the Cup: Now I know the Wings, Nucks, and Flyers all have good chances of making the playoffs and thus competing for the Cup but I like the Avs chances just as much. The Wings are continuing to age and this could be the season that they show that age, the Nucks are going to go as far as Luongo carries them, and the Flyers always seem to fall short of expectations.
*Scott Hannan: Come on, you know Peter would love the fact that he won't have to see Hannan x number of times a year after his battles with him in the playoffs.
So while Giguere has expressed that Forsberg will most likely not be back, I say if he's willing to take a reasonable amount of money, he's worth the risk as the reward could be much higher.
There is no way in hell the Flyers are going to resign Peter Forsberg. Besides the cap hit, which would force the Flyers to have to trade or otherwise move 2 or 3 players, they absolutely don't want to repeat last years in/out of the lineup saga for another season. My guess is since Forsberg just had another foot surgery in Sweden, he sits out this year, plays for Sweden in the Worlds if he is healthy, and if he wants to return to the NHL, he does so in 08-09
Don't say there is no way the Flyers bring him back. At this point it looks as if he'll wait until December or January to return, and we don't know what situation the Flyers will be in then. There is no telling whether all of the new additions to the team will pan out in the short term. We do know that the Flyers love Forsberg, as evidenced by their many attempts to lock him up long term last year despite the chronic injury problems he was fighting. We also know that Forsberg loves the Flyers. Both Hartnell and Timonen credit him with selling them on Philly. He also said, when he was traded, that he'd love the opportunity to play with Gagne and Knuble again.Right now it may seem that he doesn't fit into the Flyers plans but I have to agree with AMPline4life, Philly is still the most likely destination.
I'm sure he'll go to Philadelphia just to look us look more like the laughing stock of the league more than we already are.
If there was no cap, or the Flyers had significant room, Forsberg would sign with Flyers no doubt and they would be thrilled to have him. That being said, the only way he comes back to Philly is as follows: Briere gets hurt and is out for the season, he goes on the injury list freeing up significant cap space, and then the Flyers sign Forsberg to a one year deal. The only other way to sign him, even if they wait to December, is to clear 4-5 million of cap space via trades and/or buyouts, and I just don't see that happening.
If Forsberg returns mid-season its unlikely he will command 4-5 million on a 1 year deal because he will only play 1/2 a season and is still a big injury risk. I think around 3 seems more reasonable.
Forsberg cost nearly 6 million per year when the cap was only 39million, can't imagine he'll cost much less with cap at 50.3. And lets face it, since he will only sign for a contender, does the first half of the season really mean anything? Forsberg isn't going to go through the rigors of training and competing for much less than 5 million, it just wouldn't be worth it. He could probably play in Sweden for a million per year and make God only knows how much in endorsements and other business ventures looking to capitalize on his name. I think there is a much better chance that Teemu Selanne ends up in Philly before Forsberg
Please don't say "Briere out for the season"....It's far too early to speculate injuries. I understand the context you were saying it, but with our luck....
Gino,Please don't say "Briere out for the season"....It's far too early to speculate injuries. I understand the context you were saying it, but with our luck....
Gino,Please don't say "Briere out for the season"....It's far too early to speculate injuries. I understand the context you were saying it, but with our luck....
sorry Flyguys21, should have known better.
If Forsberg comes back mid-season he'll likely be looking to join a team with a reasonable shot at the cup. How many of those teams are going to have 5-6 million dollars in cap space left un-spent? Not many. And those who do are probably penny pinchers who won't shell out 6 million mid season. Add to that the list of teams he is reportedly interested in are only the ones he's played for. He also doesn't strike me a money-grubbing type of guy who is going to try to squeeze as much as he can from the NHL before he retires. He seems like an honorable guy who would feel an obligation to give the Flyers what they expected when they signed him in the first place. If they moved someone like Gauthier and his 2.5M they'd have over 3M in cap space. To me that's enough to sign him mid-season, if we were talking about signing him before the season that would be a different story.
I'd be really, really surprised if Forsberg doesn't return to the Avs. It probably wouldn't take much coaxing from Sakic, the Avs are very, very strong and the chance to play with old friends would probably entice him enough to sign. Plus he's the type of guy who would take an incentive laden contract instead of the 5 or 6 mil. base salary he could get. If there as ever a chance for him to go back and re-live the Avs' glory, this is it.
I agree with you Heater, if Foppa ends up anywhere this season, and with his foot problems who knows if he'll be able to play at all, it will be with the Avs. I just can't imagine the Flyers taking the risk of signing him, touting him the final piece in the cup puzzle, and then just crossing their fingers and hoping he'll still be in one piece at playoff time, let alone make it through four grueling playoff rounds. My guess is that if the Flyers are going to create space by moving Gauthier during the season, they will look to pick up another veteran offensive defenseman and perhaps a veteran checking center with decent speed to fill the holes in their lineup.
As great as Peter was, he is past tense now. Nothing more than a powerplay specialist when his body is cooperating. His career was cut short due to some unfortunate injuries and the all-out way he played the game. His next action in the NHL should be making a Hall of Fame speech.