It seemed to good to be true; Peter Forsberg made another return to the NHL this weekend with the Colorado Avalanche. After only 2 games though, Forsberg officially announced his retirement from the NHL this afternoon. He hadn't played in the league since the 2007-08 season due to continuous foot problems and when it was announced that he was making a return a few weeks ago, most of us in the media were surprised. In his prime he was one of the premiere scorers in the NHL but his numbers dropped drastically eventually forcing him to move back to Sweden to play for his home town team Modo Hockey. His NHL numbers were incredible with his best year being for the Avalanche in 1998-99 when he posted 108 points in 78 games. Even in his final season in 2007-08 he recorded 14 points in only 9 games.
Clearly Forsberg was a star in the NHL but yet people who haven't been following hockey would very long would not know that because of all of his injury plagued seasons. He had many surgeries on his feet and each one caused him to miss many games and force him into intense rehab just to be fit enough to compete in the NHL. These foot injuries are why everyone was surprised to hear he was making a comeback and of course they are probably, though he won't admit it, the reason this latest comeback was so short.
I remember as a kid watching Forsberg compete for the Avalanche in the playoffs against their bitter rival the Detroit Red Wings and how even though the Wings had some of the best defensmen in the game, he found ways to make them look silly. He wasn't much of a fighter, but he was a key player in those rivalries because he could put up points at an incredible rate. If only there could have been more playoff match ups between those 2 teams when Forsberg was in the line up because it was some of the most entertaining hockey I have ever seen.
It is very likely that Forsberg will make it to the Hockey Hall of Fame one day, but today all we have is a final retirement statement from one of the best European forwards ever to play the game. The 37 year old told the press today that "The time has finally come that I'm going to retire from the game of ice hockey," Forsberg said. "I won't be able to second guess myself. I really tried and I tried and I tried. I'm really sure about my decision this time." I will be missed by the hockey world but his legendary career will live on in hockey talk for years to come.
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