So, for the over 9000th time, former Superman of Sweden Peter Forsberg is trying to make a comeback to the National Hockey League, promising yet again that he has let his foot learn how to re-exist and be functional, and that he can still play elite level NHL hockey at 36 years of age. And yet again, it looks like he probably can, doing well in his three game stint in the Swedish Elite League (you can only play three games of international league hockey before you become susceptible to waivers upon signing an NHL contract, per season) and in recent international play. Several teams are interested in him, including Philadelphia, Colorado, New York (Rangers) and Washington.
However, it seems that Leafs Nation is in ‘holier than thou’ mode, and is scoffing at the thought of signing the man who brought the paralyzer deke and being an Avalanche player not named Joe Sakic into the mainstream.
There are various reasons for this. Some say he’s too old for this league, and is on his way down. Others think that the cap hit would be too high to deal with. Then you have the ones who think he won’t help the team succeed, that he’ll steal ice time from other centres, that the team is trying to rebuild and doesn’t need more veterans, and the by far biggest concern, what if he isn’t healthy and gets injured again?
You know what I say to that? Enough with everyone’s pessimissm. Especially in a situation like this, where people don’t realize just how good of an idea this is.
In response to him being too old, people seem to forget something – Forsberg isn’t looking for a multi year deal, but rather a one year setup similar to Mats Sundin’s last year. This is mostly because nobody is going to give the man they call Foppa such a lengthy deal given the circumstances. Players who sign after they’re 35 years of age and retire during their contract count towards the salary cap until it expires. Forsberg gets injured in year 2 of 3, then has to retire, and you now have a team stuck with his contract for a year and a half.
Now, if you think he’s too old to play hockey, he most definitely is not. Thirty six isn’t exactly a gargoyle – if he was Chris Chelios he’d have 11+ years of hockey left in him. Will he be the 120 point gamebreaker he was during his prime? Probably not. But no doubt he can still pot 75-85 points this year (well, at least be on pace for that). We aren’t talking about Jason Blake, a flash in the pan who got a five year deal from an incredibly stupid team named the..err, forget about that part, but my point is Forsberg is a player with a reputation for being amazing, and has shown no signs of severely slowing down yet. We’re talking a few months here anyway, so on that aspect, its worth the risk.
To those worried about money, that’s actually a legitimate issue right now. One would assume that Peter’s going to want approximately 5 million this year, and the Leafs have 0.542 in cap space at the moment.
However, say we trade pending UFA and not-in-the-cards-for-the-future centre that everyone seems to be loved by many Matt Stajan to, I don’t know, the New York Rangers, a team missing their #1 and #2 centres in Dubinsky and Drury. Say we get at least a 2nd back, probably more (we got a 2nd from the very same Rangers last year for Antropov, who had a much shorter stay on Broadway than Stajan’s potential minimum). That clears up 1.75 million. Then do a league swap of Vesa Toskala and Joey MacDonald (or trade Toskala, either way, though I don’t see him having value). This clears up another 3.5 million, giving us 5.25 in room. If they want to be certain they have space, do something with Jason Blake and/or Jeff Finger.
Assuming just the first two happen, that’s 5.25 saved. One, two, and three, that’s 9.25. One, two, and four, that’s 8.75. All four, and you have an astonishing 12.75 to work with, which guarantees Peter and might even leave room for future moves this year and assuredly for next. Money’s no longer an issue. On to the next point.
There are some who think he wouldn’t help this team. Are they crazy? For one, Forsberg has always been a game breaker, one who can get points in spite of his linemates, not because of them. Though of course, put an Alex Tanguay, Simon Gagne, Milan Hedjuk, Paul Kariya, or similar player with him, and things just went bonkers. He plays elite on his own, and godly with someone. How about someone named, I don’t know, Phil Kessel? You know, that young guy we just paid two planets and a moon for who we have no mentor for in terms of becoming a gamebreaker? Forsberg makes a hell of a lot of sense compared to other options for Phil for this year. Of course, next year, that best option may be Marc Savard or Nazem Kadri, but this isn’t next year. This is now.
On stealing ice time, just look at the competition. John Mitchell, Matt Stajan, Wayne Primeau, Mikhail Grabovski, and Rickard Wallin. Seriously? We’re going to complain about these guys not getting ice time? Look, the only one here who is truely a top six forward at this point is Grabovski, and even then, he’s definitely not a first liner. I’d take Forsberg eleven times out of ten even if it meant one of these guys had to go.
The part about rebuilding is absolute ridiculous, because it has no effect on any transaction we make that doesn’t involve trading our prospects. The Leafs can’t boost their first by losing anymore for anyone else but the Boston Bruins, so we can afford to bring in a vet or two. A rookie doesn’t get ice time? Deal with it. Detroit does this, and look where its gotten them..
And, finally, injuries. Everyone’s all freaked out about the possibility of him getting reinjured. My response? Once again, he’s going to be on a one year deal. If he gets injured, you cut your losses and move on to the next guy on July 1st. All you’re doing is taking a little to no risk swing that if you get stricken out gets you put back to square one. The thing is, the Leafs are already at square one, so I don’t get why the complaining about the possibility of quickly going out and back in of it. People scared of getting a taste of awesome, I guess.
Now, hopefully, I have you convinced that there isn’t anything wrong with the suggestion of dumping some useless salary to acquire a great player who can also help our stud right winger in Kessel. If not, here’s a video.
If that doesn’t work, here’s a video of him recently showing he still has two feet.
And, if that didn’t work, stop reading this article.
Everyone else, which I assume is most if not all of you, agrees that he’s a fantastic option. However, here is where it gets bad.
As much as I’ve now hyped you up, he’s likely not going to even give the Leafs a second look. Why did I say all that stuff about him just to come in with this?
Because this is a situation where it shouldn’t be about you guys not wanting him. Its a situation where he doesn’t want you.
Now, your first immediate thought on why we’d be able to get him would probably look something like this: “But, we have money to throw at him, he’s going to get a ton of minutes, he’ll be a leader here, and he’ll be surrounded by Swedes!”
On the money part, he’s definitely going to want his fair share, the standard that any NHL team would pay for at least a very good player. However, don’t think he’s waiting on a bidding war. If money was the primary concern, he’d be KHL bound. But he’s been rejecting offers that have been rumored to be as high as eight digits. So the Leafs can’t just drop off a briefcase full of slightly more money than the rest and hope to get him that way.
The extra ice time may seem good for him, but in the end, this team gives him so much of an ice time opportunity because they’re so weak depth wise. He could take a break and know Mike Richards, Paul Stastny, or Niklas Backstrom can take his place. Matt Stajan on the other hand, not so much. This team is showing more and more that the core that has the ability to truely win consists of Kessel, Kaberle, Gustavsson, and nobody else. Even with Peter the Great, those 4 won’t win a cup on their own, and at Peter’s age, that would probably not be good in his eyes.
If by leadership you mean putting a C on him, it won’t happen. The Leafs have always been a long term team with the captaincy, so thats out. Might get an A, but even then, he’s only going to be here for a year. Now, take a man without a letter who’s playing on a rental basis and try to get him to lead the locker room. Its possible, but it’s going to be hard work, possibly harder than Forsberg may want to put the effort into. At least he’s practically guaranteed an A in Washington, and he has plenty of friends on the other teams that are in the running.
And, lastly, the Swedish connection, which I’ve heard a lot of people use when they try to preach to this choir about the positives of Peter Forsberg. Now, there’s an obvious issue here…and that would be that for a team that I’ve head compared to Detroit in basically being New Stockholm, there are a whopping two Leafs on this roster who are from Sweden. Jonas Gustavsson being eleven years younger, and Rickard Wallin being seven years younger. They’ve all played a combined zero games with each other. Now, if we still had Sundin, this argument would make sense, but it really doesn’t.
In the end, it is likely that we’ll be seeing Peter Forsberg sign in a place that he is familiar with, or is incredibly talented and a favourite to go after Lord Stanley’s Cup. In fact, recent evidence has proven this, with him being rumored to be in Negotiations with the Philadephia Flyers, the Colorado Avalanche, and the Washington Capitals. Notice the part where one team is a former team, one gives him a serious shot at another cup, and one gives him the best of both worlds.
As for the Leafs, we’re neither, so it would certainly be an uphill battle. But, at least its an uphill battle that would actually make sense, contrary to everyone’s belief. Like the title says, the wrong people are doing the rejecting here. Peter Forsberg would be the undisputed first line centre here for the rest of the year, and the only thing I would hope stopping him is himself.
Until next time,
Jeff
