For the past several seasons, former NHL forward Peter Forsberg has been the topic of internet rumors and speculation.
Where is he going? Is he coming back? When will he come back?
Like a whirling dervish, Forsberg's name drops out of the limelight and reappears suddenly and prominently with every doctor's visit for his ailing foot.
Today, following another offseason foot surgery, Forsberg is making yet another comeback in Sweden to compete in the Karjala Cup with the ultimate intention of returning to the NHL.
Several teams are headed to the tournament to scout Forsberg and amongst them will be the New York Rangers, according to a story by Larry Brooks in today's NY Post.
What is perhaps most interesting is that General Manager Glen Sather acknowledged the interest.
"Yes, we have interest in Forsberg," said Sather to Brooks. "From the
reports we've been getting, the foot is much better than it was a year
ago."
"We'll scout him at the tournament and see what, if
anything develops. But I've always liked Peter and I've always been
interested in finding a way to bring him to New York, if possible."
Cap space is of course a problem for the Rangers, who have a little bit over a million dollars available, depending on who is up from Hartford.
So could the Rangers afford him?
While money seems to always be available for Sather, a bigger question may be the impact on the lineup. Where would Forsberg fit?
If he centered the first line with Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal, that would send Chris Higgins to play alongside Chris Drury and Ales Kotalik on the second line.
The third line would be centered by Brandon Dubinsky with Sean Avery and Ryan Callahan on the wings. Of course, the second and third lines are just titles with both getting near equal playing time.
That would leave the fourth line with Enver Lisin, Artem Anisimov, and one of three players: Brian Boyle, Donald Brashear, and Aaron Voros.
Who goes and who stays?Seemingly at least one of those players is waived.
Granted, with Forsberg the Rangers have four very potent offensive threats, but they lack true grit as your fourth line becomes another scoring line.
In Head Coach John Tortorella's system, that may not be a bad thing, but is it worth the chance, especially considering Tortorella's affliction to giving the fourth line considerable minutes?
If healthy, Forsberg is a complete player that would complement Gaborik's style and open up space as Gaborik would no longer be the sole threat on that line.
Forsberg last played in the NHL in 2007, a brief return with the Colorado Avalanche. In nine games played, he scored 14 points with one goal and 13 assists.
The previous season, he split time between Philadelphia and Nashville, scoring a total of 55 points in 57 games.
Stay tuned for our Game Day Preview in preparation for tonight's matchup in Edmonton...
