Monday, August 31, 2009

Foppa

I'm going to do my best impersonation of a Leaf/Ranger fan* and say that if Peter Forsberg is able to make a comeback and play in the NHL this season, the Thrashers should sign him to a one year contract.

Much like Cam Neely and Bobby Orr, Foppa was once the best player in the NHL but nagging injuries have threatened to end his career far earlier than anyone would like. A lesser man would have hung them up five years ago. Foppa is a tough SOB and a man who loves hockey too much to let blinding pain keep him off the ice.

In addition, he's a man who has previously stated that Philips Arena is his favorite place to play. He loves our home rink. Let's give him 41 regular season games here.

As a member of the Avalanche, Foppa turned all the players around him into forces in their own rights, and has shown that he is a great teacher of young talent. See Hejduk, Milan; Drury, Chris; Deadmarsh, Adam.

Imagine the possible line combinations. Early in the season, when he's still getting his wheels back, he could play third line minutes mentoring young stars-to-be like Evander Kane or Tim Stapleton. Then, once he's back up to speed, John Anderson could roll these forward lines:

Kovy--Foppa--Antro
Kozy--White--Little
Party--Pevs--Army
Thor--Slats--Bolts

WHEN (not if) Foppa gets hurt, you can move Pevs up to the top line, have Marty the Party play center on line 3 and bring up an able body from Chicago.

I submit to you that's not just a playoff team, but a third-round playoff team. Of course signing Foppa for one year isn't going to be much evidence to the Czar that the team is on the right track for the long haul, but it would help improve the team's overall image around the league and help convince free agents to give us a more thorough look in the future.


*- It's not that good of an impersonation. A real Leaf/Ranger fan would say that Foppa OBVIOUSLY WANTS to come to our team and it's a foregone conclusion that it will happen.

6 comments:

A2B said...

Ummm.... I think I love you. That would be amazing to have those lines rolling. Thats two true scoring lines, a shutdown line, and a grinding line to just depress the other team. Can we get you placed as GM soon please?

Big Shooter said...

I'd like to sign God to play on our thrid line defense.

Razor Catch Prey said...

Shooter, you remember that old joke Bucci posted years ago. "That's just god. He thinks he's Bobby Orr."

Mortimer Peacock said...

There's a legitimate argument to be made that Forsberg is the greatest of all humans, but I'll support a spot for him on the Thrashers ONLY if he lives up to his nickname and becomes a true fop: he must wear a monocle and ascot during all games and speak like a Swedish Noel Coward.

Wayne stuck in AL said...

Like National League power hitters of the 60's, 70's, and 80's say they liked coming to Fulton County stadium because they got to hit against poor Braves' pitching, the ONLY reason Forsburg would say that Philips was his favorite place to play was because he had the good fortune to play against the Thrashers defense (or lack thereof)...

Razor Catch Prey said...

Wayne-

Actually, he was talking about the building itself. He's a big fan of the design and the amenities we offer the players, apparently.