Flyers' Forsberg flirtation done
Peter Forsberg won't be playing for the Flyers this season.
Flyers' Forsberg flirtation done
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
And so, it seems, the Flyers' annual flirtation with Peter Forsberg and his sore feet has ended. Thankfully.
Forsberg says today that he won't be coming here to play this year, or anywhere on this continent. The key quote out of Sweden goes like this: "There won't be any NHL this season, that's totally clear. If I can play it will be in the (Swedish) Elite Series and Modo."
To which there is only one logical reply:
Hallelujah.
The Flyers have built themselves a nice team. They made a great, unexpected run to the semifinals last year and they are positioning themselves for another successful spring. They already have one injury complication -- that is, finding a place for Danny Briere once he returns from his second surgery on his groin/abdomen/sports hernia/whatever you want to call it. That will be work enough, getting Briere ready for the playoffs. They did not need Forsberg sucking all of the air out of the building with every tweak of pain that he feels in his bum right foot.
He is a great player when healthy. He is not healthy. There is no way to know if he is going to be healthy. Flyers GM Paul Holmgren has been fixated on Forsberg all along -- before he came back last spring to play in Colorado, and again this year. Holmgren's view seems to be that if he's healthy, he's a big plus. What Holmgren doesn't want to recognize is the downside -- because if he isn't healthy, Forsberg becomes a monumental distraction just by breathing. It isn't even necessarily his fault. It is simply his stature.
The Flyers don't need that, and now they won't have to deal with it.
Go, Modo.
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Homer seriously needs to get over his Foppa man-crush & stop commenting about his interest in every once-been past-his-prime uber-talent who is sitting at home. It does nothing to help the team & then when they dont come he looks like a fool. All it does is screw with the pysche of his team. You're spot-on with this one Rich. The GM's been great, but he seems to be the only one who doesn't get the damage he does with these public (one-sided?) flirtations.— knightside
good article. right on point about not needing another injured distraction.— Inchon- good article. right on point about not needing another injured distraction.— Inchon
- AMEN— PHILLYFAN INWYO
- Hoffmann is usually clueless but he's right on this one.— davekrieg
- Yea a.b.s., good call, that smurf Briere that had 31 goals and 72 points last year. That smurf who had 16 pts in 17 playoff games, (53 pts in 57 career playoff games). Yea, we need Peter "Bad Feet" Forsberg who plays 3 games for every 10. We should have signed Drury or Gomez, oh wait they're playing terrible. Idiots !!— OMIGODEAGLES
- If Forsberg's feet were anywhere near healed, there wouldn't be all of this "we'll see how it goes" stuff. It's been 4 years now and it doesn't sound like he's even close to a solution. I don't know if he would have hurt, but I'm convinced he wouldn't have helped. At this point, we'd be better off having Hatcher come back than Forberg. I still think we'll be fine going into the playoffs - getting Briere back healthy will be like adding an elite forward at deadline time. I would call a.b.s. a moron, but then I'd have to apologize to all the other morons out there.— PhightinPhan
- the Flyers will not make the playoffs now.— BHite15
- I am looking forward to Briere being healthy WITH Gagne. I hope we go further with these guys this year. Yeah, too bad with Forsberg but if he is not even 60% there, then he won't help us.— TronSector82
- the remote control in the picture of Rich is the same remote I have at home. The TV is a Sharp. Here's Tom with the weather......— T3rdEyevisual
- That Swedish ship has sailed. He is Peter Foosberg now, not Forsberg. While he HAD great skills, he is no longer talented enough for the NHL game. If the Flyers are going to hire him I hope it is as a scout and nothing more. This team has good skill, great chemistry and can grow into becoming a true Cup contender. Don't mess it up by reaching for straws.— jlmfl
- Blizzard coming to Pennsylvania, NJ. and Delaware over the weekend. The high is expected to be in the teen. 6 to 10 inches in Southern Jersey, 8 to 12 in Southeastern PA. and 12 to 16 inches to North and West of Philadelphia. Stay tune for further update.— Tom5576
- I don't mind having Peter Forsberg on the team; what I mind is waiting for Peter Forsberg to join the team. If memory serves, that 10-game skid last year that dropped the Flyers to ninth place in the conference coincided almost exactly with the Waiting for Forsberg, like it was on all the players' minds or something. I'm glad it won't be this year.
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- Tool Rocks— ItsOnLikeDK
- Thats what Foppa says this week, wait til he plays again and gets Homer going again......need a GOALIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!— Clarkeisgod
- So long, and Thanks for all the fish.— jH
thank god!— jamarder- Forget Forsberg! Call up Klotz so he can join Cote in getting his a## kicked every other night!— hexyscores
- I am glad this Forsberg talk has been put to bed quickly. He is not going to help rather only prove to distract a team that already has trouble focusing on playing 60 minutes of solid hockey. With all this talk about bring back an oft-injured-beyond his prime-old-star, why not talk about Lindros or LeClair or someone else whose prime is long-gone. The Flyers need to focus on playing 60-minutes of good hockey in every game with the core of good players already here, not thinking about messing with the chemistry any further. They proved they could do well in the playoffs last year and are positioned even better this year (although the D could get a little more solid). Just like $900 billion isn't the answer for the economy, Forsberg is not the answer for the Flyers.— lifelongphillyfan
- abs you are clueless if you want Foresberg back. Are you stuck in the 90s or what? I'm glad he is not coming here for 3 games and then to the I.R.— phillybruce
- abs you are clueless if you want Foresberg back. Are you stuck in the 90s or what? I'm glad he is not coming here for 3 games and then to the I.R.— phillybruce
- I don't see the downside to Foppa. The squad that had him a few years back needed him, on this team he'd just be another weapon.— MD20202020
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- You suck at alliteration, Rich.— Jerome99RIP
