Forsberg is back in the house!

[johnsonrj]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=551808

Check it out.... Hopefully we see some awesomeness from Forsberg.

[AvsOkie]

I was feeling really skeptical about this when it was announced yesterday. I mean, they guy is pushing 40 with an injury that looks like it only heals sporadically, then comes back to derail any hope he has of finishing a season. The way people are talking you'd think 90's Foppa is coming back with a thousand flaming hell hounds to consume the rest of the league and permanently weld the Stanley Cup as the pop tab on top of the Pepsi Center.

Also, it got really annoying walking around in Raleigh with people shouting FORSBERG! at my Roy jersey, like I have the man's number and have long talks every night about our future plans and how awesome Denver in the spring is.

That said, my perspective was swayed a bit by what The Avalanche Guild tweeted, which is basically that his biggest contribution is in fact this fan frenzy. It will not only put more fans in the seats (where now the pepsi center is doing only slightly better than the cox at filling things up) but it will put EXCITED fans in the seats, - rather than the possibility as it was before of putting some books in the concourses and calling it the Denver Municipal Library sponsored by Pepsi.

The Avs are filled with brilliant young stars who just aren't finding a way to click, and sports stars being as they are, energetic crowds go a long way towards fixing it. So if Foppa can bring da funk, bring da noise and light up Duchene, Stastny, etc, then this may have actually been the smartest thing they have done all season. And that, at least, is making me excited.

[ScottInOKC]

This coming from a Wings fan may shock you, but I like Forsberg and enjoyed watching him play. That having been said, sometimes you have to know when to hang up the skates. That time has long since passed for Peter.

[ScottInOKC]

Hopefully, he figured out it's time...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=6121071

[Brett]

Kinda bummed. He's a great guy - really tough not to like him

One of the best stickhandlers ever.

[AvsOkie]

*sigh*

Bummed is about where I have settled as well. Started out pissed, but seeing his face at the press conference, couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy. He honestly wanted to be in Denver, playing one more season for the team he loved the most. With that much talent, I can't blame him. Sucks to have your career literally cut off at the legs with such an odd injury.

Still, I didn't think I would feel the way I do. Someone said on twitter today that part of their childhood died today. Being much more of a Roy fan, I didn't think I would feel that way. Yet looking at it, I realized that was exactly how I was feeling. This was a man who was a prime reason why the cup came home to Denver twice, and he made this team into the irresistible force that turned me into a permanent hockey fan. Today cemented the fact that time passes on, that era is gone, and we're all old fogeys now. Kinda depressing.

I've come to terms with it though, and settled into that general bummed mood. Barons pummeling the heat might Weds might help later. But for now, Foppa's drama today has left Toby Keith, of all the odd things, stuck in my head.

I used to be hell on wheels
Back when I was a younger man
Now my body says, "You can't do this boy"
But my pride says, "Oh yes you can"

Thanks for one last round Foppa, we'll miss you.