Thursday, November 15, 2001
Olympic roster tempts Forsberg
By TERRY KOSHAN -- Toronto Sun
The intrigue surrounding Peter Forsberg's eventual return to hockey has been given another shot by the man himself.
Forsberg, who missed the final two rounds of the 2001 Stanley Cup playoffs because of a ruptured spleen and presently is on a leave of absence from the Avalanche, hinted strongly he could be in Sweden's lineup on Feb. 15 when it plays its first game of the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City against Canada.
"To play again with (Vancouver Canucks captain Markus Naslund) is damn tempting," Forsberg told the Expressen newspaper. "We've always played so well together.
"It would be fantastic to play an Olympic tournament with (Naslund and Niklas Sundstrom of the San Jose Sharks). If I get healthy, that's probably how it will be."
Last week, Don Baizley, Forsberg's agent, said he was unaware of any plans Forsberg had regarding a return. But last month, Sweden general manager Anders Hedberg said he had spoken to Forsberg and was confident the centre would play in Salt Lake.
richer fighting dark battles: Stephane Richer of the Pittsburgh Penguins says he is successfully dealing with the depression that forced him out of hockey for one year and almost cost him his life.
He once drove from New Jersey to Montreal and never stopped crying the entire trip. He also said he drove his Porsche 911 as fast as 225 km/h on several occasions with the intention of committing suicide, he says.
"When you talk about suicide, it's a big deal," Richer, 35, said in an interview with the Newark Star-Ledger. "I've had this my whole life, but I never mentioned it.
"A lot of athletes and people go through it. It's pretty scary when you try to kill yourself, try to commit suicide. I took a year off and went for help."
EXPECT FIREWORKS:
Patrik Elias is hoping to get a pound of flesh from the New Jersey Devils, and has hired agent Mark Gandler to do the extracting from Devils GM Lou Lamoriello. The latter is not exactly known for throwing money around.
The New York Post reported yesterday the grossly underpaid Elias will seek to break John LeClair's arbitration record of $7 million US last summer, if Elias' situation gets that far. Elias, one of the NHL's more dynamic players who was third in scoring last season with 96 points, makes just $750,000. Gandler likely would be looking for a least a tenfold increase in salary.
It was Gandler who advised Alexei Yashin, then of the Ottawa Senators, to sit out rather than honour his contract in the 1999-2000 season.
briefly: Chicago Blackhawks general manager Mike Smith says he has no plans to deal Tony Amonte. "People saying we want to trade Tony are making a wrong assumption," said Smith, who was to be in Pittsburgh last night to watch the Penguins play host to the New York Islanders ... Nashville Predators forward Scott Walker will be out for at least one week. He suffered a concussion on Tuesday in a game against the Buffalo Sabres.
-- with files from CP
2002 Games Men's Hockey Coverage
