the one man media circus

Over the past few weeks I have realized something; NHL news is simply not mainstream. When it comes to the sport not played on a field you really have to dig around to find the kind of news that is so commonly found on television and plastered on websites for other sports.

At any rate, on my daily dig for Flyers updates, I stumbled upon this bit of information. This was posted on the Sports Illustrated website, but I think it was originally from an article in South Jersey's Courier Post.

"The agent for Peter Forsberg confirmed Friday he has spoken to the Flyers about a possible NHL return for the Swedish star. Forsberg, who is in his native Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, was expected to test his surgically reconstructed right foot on the ice this week and the Flyers are eagerly awaiting the results."
-Courier Post

I would have immediately dismissed this latest rumor, as it has been circulating since the off season. But this next statement I found interesting..

The Flyers are believed to have already worked out contract numbers that would allow Forsberg to fit under their salary cap without removing significant players.
-Courier Post

What?!

Before I got a little too excited, about the news, I thought about this a bit and than remembered, it is a little too familiar for my liking. I recall a season, 1999 - 2000 season actually, where the Flyers were a good team. No, not just good, great. The best part? They had built a good portion of their season without their star player, Mister Eric Lindros. Philly marched through the playoffs and earned themselves an Eastern Conference final bid against the rival New Jersey Devils. Right before everyone's eyes, the impossible happened. Philly blew a 3-1 series lead, because Lindros decided he was going to come back and lead them the rest of the way through the playoffs. The one-man media circus seemingly threw off the otherwise stellar play of the Flyers, and eventually proved their downfall.

For the first time in a long time, Philly has enough firepower on the bench to keep all four lines rolling deep into games, even in crunch-time situations, and they are doing this without a particularly huge marquee style player. Don't get me wrong, Peter has been one of my favorite players since I was a kid, but I just do not see a role that he could play on this current Philly team.

It is common knowledge that Forsberg is a great center forward, but the Fly guys are very well represented in that position already. Mike Richards is having his breakout season, along with the contract to show for it. A fine forward for sure. Danny Briere is known throughout the league as a solid center as well, not to mention Jeff Carter.

Notice a theme in the center position? Youth. Glorious, luxurious, youth. All three players have many long seasons ahead of them, hopefully in the orange and black. On the other hand, it is believed that at most, Peter the great is looking for a two-year deal.

The depth in the center position leads me to believe that they will ask Forsberg to play on one of the wings instead. Considering Lupul will hopefully be back from his injury and ready to go by the time Peter has made his decision on whether or not to return in the first place, there is not much room for moves on either wing either. Knuble comes to mind when I think of expendable wingers, but he is too crucial on the power play to get rid of. I suppose this would leave Sami Kapanen as the odd man out, and that would be a straight up gamble, considering Sami is a gritty hard working player, who is healthy, where as Forsberg has not been game-tested in a good while.

But when you look at the big picture, there are plenty of other teams where he would be able to play his prime position of center.

Lastly, the NHL.com article reads on to basically say that Forsberg will be willing to join a team guaranteed to make it to the playoffs and beyond. Since both conferences are very in the standings, the only teams I can think of that have no shot at adding the Swede are the Chicago Black hawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His options are obviously very open at this point, and he could end up in either conference.

With all of the media that Forsberg can stir up by just considering a comeback, when or if he actually makes his NHL return official, this scene will turn into a frenzy. A frenzy, that may be in Philly's best interest to avoid.