Peter Forsberg

Peter Forsberg
Hockey Hall of Fame, 2014
Forsberg in 2016
Born (1973-07-20) 20 July 1973 (age 51)
Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Modo Hockey
Quebec Nordiques
Colorado Avalanche
Philadelphia Flyers
Nashville Predators
National team  Sweden
NHL draft 6th overall, 1991
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 1989–2011

Peter Mattias Forsberg (pronounced [ˈpěːtɛr ˈfɔ̂ʂːbærj] ⓘ; born 20 July 1973) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player and former assistant general manager of Modo Hockey. Nicknamed "Peter the Great" and "Foppa", Forsberg was known for his on-ice vision and physical play, and is considered one of the greatest players of all time.[1] Although his career was shortened by persistent injuries, as of 2021, he stands ninth all-time in career points-per-game[2] and fifth all-time in career assists-per-game[3] in the NHL, behind only Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Bobby Orr, and Connor McDavid. In 2017 Forsberg was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.[4]

His 19-year professional career includes 13 years in the National Hockey League (NHL), where he won two Stanley Cups with the Colorado Avalanche, as well as several individual honors including the Hart Memorial Trophy in 2003. As of the end of the 2017–18 season, he is the seventh-highest all-time Swedish point scorer in the NHL regular season.[5] Before his short-lived comeback season in 2011, Forsberg never had a negative plus-minus rating, giving him an overall career rating of +238.

Representing Sweden in international play, Forsberg competed in four Winter Olympics, two World Cups and five World Championships, as well as one European Junior Championship and two World Junior Championships, where he holds a scoring record of 31 points in seven games that some say may never be broken.[6] He won four gold medals with Sweden in his career, winning titles at the 1992 and 1998 World Championships and the 1994 and 2006 Winter Olympics. Combined with his two Stanley Cup championships in NHL play, he is a member of the Triple Gold Club and the only Swede who has won each of the three competitions twice.[7] In 2013, he was inducted to the IIHF Hall of Fame,[8] and in 2014, he was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame.[9]

  1. ^ Wigge, Larry (2000). "Stopping Forsberg? Some nights it's not in the cards". The Sporting News.
  2. ^ "Career Points-Per-Game Records". www.hockey-reference.com.
  3. ^ "Career Assists-Per-Game Records". www.hockey-reference.com.
  4. ^ "100 Greatest NHL Players". NHL.com. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  5. ^ "HHOF Records and Rankings – Countries". Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  6. ^ "NHL Forsberg Retrospective". NHL. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  7. ^ "Triple Gold Club" (PDF). IIHF.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2007. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
  8. ^ "IIHF HoF 2013". IIHF. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  9. ^ "Peter Forsberg and Rob Blake Named to Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2014". Archived from the original on 29 June 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.