Peter Forsberg at his retirement press conference. His comeback lasted two games.
I'll never fault an athlete for wanting to give it another shot (unless you do it in the fashion that Brett Favre does it) as long as he's still physically able to. Forsberg practiced for a few weeks before he saw any game action, so he didn't rush in to it, either. With the foot problems he's had, his time away from the game, and his age all working against him, he didn't stand much of a chance. It didn't help that he tried to make his return in February when teams are beginning to make their playoff pushes and Forsberg was in October form at best. At least he had the dignity to walk away (-4 in two games) before things got real bad. He only took a roster spot for two games, and the Avs are slumping anyways, so it's not like he took them off their game. Forsberg is a hockey icon in Sweden and will always be held in high regards among the Avalanche faithful.
Avalanche Head Coach Joe Sacco is trying to get his team out of a 1-9 slump in their last 10 games
On a related note, to the people calling for Joe Sacco's job, give the guy some time. It was just a year ago that he was being talked about for the Jack Adams Award (and probably would have won it if not for the spectacular job Dave Tippett did in Phoenix) and how he was getting the most out of a young bunch. Nobody thought Colorado was a playoff team last year and they pushed San Jose to 6 games in the first round. The Avs were without G Craig Anderson for a long period of time and they couldn't sneak up on anyone this year. Unless Colorado really bottoms out, let Sacco finish out the season and if things don't look better next season, then give him the ax. I recognize it's a tight playoff race in the West and anyone but Edmonton could get in, but the Avs weren't making a deep run this season anyways. What's the rush.
Winger Kris Versteeg is playing for his 3rd team in the past year (no fault of his own though)
The Philadelphia Flyers are certainly trying their best to follow up last year's Stanley Cup Finals appearance with hoisting the Cup this year. The Flyers already have some of the best forwards in the league and the addition of Versteeg gives them three legitimate scoring lines. I'd love to see Versteeg play alongside Mike Richards (Versteeg makes his debut tonight in Tampa Bay). Philly's blueline is deep and as long as goalie Sergei Bobrovsky continues to play well, there really is no stopping the boys from Broad Street.
As for Toronto...wow. Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke has had to rebuild his rebuilding plan. Trading away guys on the last year of their contract or older veterans is one thing. Trading away a 24 year-old, productive winger that is three years removed from being a Calder finalist, won a Stanley Cup last season, AND has another whole season left on his contract, is another thing. There are a lot of directions that you can blame Toronto's woes on (Ron Wilson, Phil Kessel, the goaltending, etc), but Brian Burke has made a mess and needs to clean it up, quickly. He doesn't have the benefit of being in a lax hockey market like Anaheim. Maple Leafs fans have been waiting and are getting impatient (rightfully so). Getting a 1st and 3rd round pick back for Versteeg certainly helps, but more needs to be done. I've lost track of how many trade deadlines that D Tomas Kaberle was supposed to be traded, but this needs to be the one. Trade Jean-Sebastian Giguere away and see what James Reimer is made of (he may need to address his goaltending, too. Jonas Gustavsson hasn't exactly panned out).
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