Peter Forsberg: Will he ever return?
Ashley Gallant | National Hockey League
Nov 5, 07:13 PM | Hype this story!
Over the past several months, people have been asking, “When is Peter Forsberg returning?” and, “Which team will win the ‘Peter Forsberg Sweepstakes’?”
Maybe we all need to seriously consider the possibility that he will not return to hockey – ever.
He battled a series of injuries last season that limited him to just 57 regular season games, and he had surgery on his feet in the off-season in an attempt to rectify the problems. The plan was to fix the feet, train for several months, play a bit for Sweden and come back to the NHL mid-season.
Well, he had the surgical procedures, he has been training, and he was on the ice today for a session with the Swedish national team, with the intention of playing in the Karjala Cup (a four-team international tournament). And then there was a bump in the road…
TSN is reporting that Forsberg was limited to just one hour on the ice because his ankle didn’t feel right.
‘‘I will have to go back to one of the doctors to see if there’s something I can do.’‘ Forsberg said. ‘‘I’m not going to play if it’s not working. I might as well retire.’‘
For those who don’t know what is wrong with Forsberg’s feet, Bob McKenzie wrote a nice little piece today. I guess Forsberg’s problems have been present since birth. The ligaments in his feet are a little long and it’s such that when he laces up his skates, his feet aren’t properly in place. It’s as if Forsberg’s feet are sliding around in skates that are too big, even though the skates themselves fit snugly. As you can imagine, this creates a lot of problems when trying to move around on the ice.
The procedures Forsberg had this summer were to shorten the ligaments in his feet, but apparently it did not work as expected.
My guess is that Forsberg will try to find any possible solution that will enable him to play hockey, but he’s starting to realize that he may have to call it a career. It would be a shame to see him leave, but I’d rather see him go now than stick around for a year or two and suffer.
Comments
DaBich
Nov 6, 06:51 AM
What a shame that would be, he’s a very talented hockey player. Sometimes Mother Nature has the final say.
Ashley Gallant
Nov 6, 02:55 PM
Absolutely. I would love to see Forsberg come back and play, but not if it means that he will do further damage – even permanent damage – to his body. As hard as it must be, I think it might be time for him to hang up the skates and call it a career. No one would put him down for making that decision…at least I would hope not.
DaBich
Nov 6, 03:19 PM
I totally agree!
spiker97
Nov 8, 12:06 AM
There was an interview piece shown on the NHL Network on Wednesday from Sweden. From what he said, he still wants to give hockey a shot, but I could see his mind from what he said is already made up. He cannot accept being a lesser player than what he was at his prime, and would {in my opinion} rather retire than play in decline. Besides, he probably doesn’t want to go through more operations if he really doesn’t need to. It will come to a point where walking and moving without much pain is probably a little more important to him than being an elite hockey player.
Definitely a future Hall of Famer, no doubt. He will be missed.
Ashley Gallant
Nov 8, 01:16 AM
That’s the same impression I get from Forsberg – that he’d rather retire than play in decline. And who can really blame him, eh?
Thanks for the comments!
Matt Bodenschatz
Nov 8, 11:35 AM
I think it would be smart on his part. Too many players let their legacies slip away by playing their final years at less than 100%. I would hate to see that happen to Forsberg, who I believe is one of the all-time great players in the history of the NHL.
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