Peter Forsberg wasn't even supposed to be an Avalanche (or Nordique as it were). He was actually drafted by Philadelphia but when Eric Lindros refused to sign and play for Quebec, and after some deliberation on which deal was accepted first, he was traded to Philly and Forsberg came back along with four other players, two first round draft picks, and $15 million. That deal is now considered one of the most lopsided trades to ever occur in the NHL and was key to both of the Avalanche organization Stanley Cup Championships.
From the start people new that he was great, and after being taken 6th overall when expected to go late in the first he began showing his talent fully. He soon became "the best talent outside of the NHL" and it wasn't long before he was one of the best players in the NHL.
Colorado fans grew to love Foppa. Very, very few players ever combined his amount of skill with his amount of determination and then combine that with a toughness and mean streak to boot. He played a rough style that other fans hated but endeared him to Avalanche fans, and his moves with the puck and ability to see the ice were incredible. Few players were as talented as him when it came to finding teammates, and in fact he is top 10 all time in points per game and fourth in assists per game behind only Gretzky, Lemieux, and Orr. One of his signature passes was going behind the net and as the goalie turned to follow he would pass behind him to a teammate with a wide open net.
Few players with that kind of skill were so physical as well. He wasn't afraid to hit and in fact sought out contact quite often. He is the best player I've ever seen use the "reverse check" as well, with no one being close to him. When he was along the board and had the puck and someone was coming he would put the puck between his feet and instead of taking the hit he would time throwing his should out to deliver a hit nearly perfectly often leaving his opponent on his ass while being able to skate off with the puck.
No player has ever had as much love for the game and determination to give everything he had either. Perhaps that is why it was so difficult for him to give up the game. When his foot began giving him problems in 2003 he fought through it. When he couldn't fight through it he experimented, had surgeries (in the neighborhood of 25 over the last several years I have heard), tried new skates ... did whatever he could to try to get back to playing. Only once all options were exhausted did he finally call it quits and I know it tore him up to do so. I know it tore up Avalanche fans and fans of great, talented hockey players to see him have to quit as well.
Forsberg should undoubtedly be a Hall of Famer, and his number should be retired at the first home Avalanche game next season. If either doesn't happen it is a shame and a travesty because he has earned it. If only he had been healthy through his career he could have been one of the greatest ever, but instead he was limited to just 708 games and while he played a bit after 30, he was really only healthy until that age.
Some of Forsberg's career highlights...
Golden Puck for best Swedish ice hockey player of the year and the Golden Helmet for most valuable player of the Elitserien, an award decided by the players in 1993 and 1994 both.
Two Olympic gold medals ... the 94 Olympics shootout goal he scored was immortalized on a postage stamp.
Two World Championship gold medals and five silver medals.
Two time "Best Forward" and "All-Star" at the World Championships.
At the 1993 World Junior Championships set an all time tournament record with 31 points in only seven games. Also, he ranks first in career points among tournament scorers with 42 points (10 goals and 32 assists).
Two Stanley Cup Championships.
Calder Trophy and All-Rookie team his first season in the NHL.
7 time All-Star including 3 first team selections.
Art Ross, +/-. and Hart Trophies in 2003.
(*For those unfamiliar with hockey stats this is games played, goals, assists, points, +/- (first totals), penalty minutes. The top three rows are separated into regular season and playoffs, and the bottom totals are international tournament totals.)
| NHL totals | 708 | 249 | 636 | 885 | +238 | 690 | 151 | 64 | 107 | 171 | +54 | 163 | ||
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| SEL totals | 214 | 88 | 137 | 225 | — | 452 | 15 | 13 | 8 | 21 | — | 16 | ||
| SWE jr. totals | 71 | 53 | 79 | 132 | — | 102 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
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