BillsFever
06-26-2003, 10:20 PM
DENVER -- Colorado Avalanche star Peter Forsberg will be back for at least one more season after agreeing to a one-year deal on Wednesday.
After becoming the first Swedish player to earn the Hart Trophy as league MVP last year, Forsberg said he wasn't sure if wanted to play a 10th season with the Avalanche or return to his homeland.
Forsberg was eligible to become a restricted free agent next Tuesday and has indicated he would like to finish his career in Sweden, where his father coaches MoDo of the Swedish Elite League. He put off his decision until after the World Hockey Championships last month in Finland and has spent the rest of the offseason in Sweden.
Forsberg's agent, Don Baizley, said he thought Forsberg planned to come back all along but just wanted to make sure it was the right decision.
"I suspect that in his mind he was leaning to that as a possibility, but he really wanted to be sure that he was ready to do everything that goes with it,'' Baizley said. "The only way he could be would be to get away and get back to his roots, so to speak, and think it through. Once he got back, he decided 'Yeah, I'm ready to do it.'''
Forsberg signed a deal believed to be worth about $11 million, including signing bonus, but Baizley said there are no guarantees once that contract ends.
"I suspect this will be an annual event with him,'' Baizley said. "I don't think Peter knows how long he's going to play. I think he's going to take it a year at a time.''
Forsberg has been one of the NHL's best two-way players since entering the league in 1994-95, the franchise's final season in Quebec before moving to Denver.
http://espn.go.com/nhl/news/2003/0625/1572872.html
After becoming the first Swedish player to earn the Hart Trophy as league MVP last year, Forsberg said he wasn't sure if wanted to play a 10th season with the Avalanche or return to his homeland.
Forsberg was eligible to become a restricted free agent next Tuesday and has indicated he would like to finish his career in Sweden, where his father coaches MoDo of the Swedish Elite League. He put off his decision until after the World Hockey Championships last month in Finland and has spent the rest of the offseason in Sweden.
Forsberg's agent, Don Baizley, said he thought Forsberg planned to come back all along but just wanted to make sure it was the right decision.
"I suspect that in his mind he was leaning to that as a possibility, but he really wanted to be sure that he was ready to do everything that goes with it,'' Baizley said. "The only way he could be would be to get away and get back to his roots, so to speak, and think it through. Once he got back, he decided 'Yeah, I'm ready to do it.'''
Forsberg signed a deal believed to be worth about $11 million, including signing bonus, but Baizley said there are no guarantees once that contract ends.
"I suspect this will be an annual event with him,'' Baizley said. "I don't think Peter knows how long he's going to play. I think he's going to take it a year at a time.''
Forsberg has been one of the NHL's best two-way players since entering the league in 1994-95, the franchise's final season in Quebec before moving to Denver.
http://espn.go.com/nhl/news/2003/0625/1572872.html