Forsberg to give NHL another shot, signs with Avs

Peter Forsberg has decided to give the NHL another try.

Following Sunday's practice, Forsberg signed a contract with the Colorado Avalanche for the remainder of the 2010-11 season. Terms of the deal were not revealed.

"We're proud to announce that Peter will be back in an Avalanche sweater," said Avalanche General Manager/Executive Vice President Greg Sherman.  "Peter believes he can compete at the NHL level based on how his workouts went. He will provide additional leadership to our club and he will have an impact with this young team."

Forsberg, 37, has been practicing with the Avalanche since Jan. 22, testing his oft-injured right foot and ankle to see if it could withstand the rigors of another NHL season. He decided on Sunday to give it another chance.

"After testing my abilities with NHL players over the last few weeks, I feel confident that I can play at the NHL level and help this team," said Forsberg. "I wanted to see where I was at physically and I am ready for this new challenge."

Forsberg last played in the NHL for the Avalanche in the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when he had 5 points in seven games. He also had 14 points in nine regular-season games.

Since Forsberg hasn't played this season, he does not have to go through waivers and can play with the Avs immediately upon signing his contract. In a release, the team said he would make his debut sometime during the team's four-game road trip which starts Monday at Phoenix.

The Avalanche have lost three straight games, and entered Sunday 12th in the Western Conference with 56 points. However, they're just four points behind eight-place Los Angeles with 30 games remaining.

The sixth pick of the 1991 Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers, Forsberg has 885 points in 706 NHL games with the Avalanche, Flyers and Nashville Predators.

A five-time All-Star, Forsberg had the greatest success of his NHL career with the Avalanche, winning a pair of Stanley Cups and the Hart and Art Ross trophies in 2003.
 
However, injuries always have been a problem for Forsberg, with chronic foot and ankle problems derailing the latter stages of his career. Since the 2004-05 work stoppage, he's played as many as 60 games in a season once, in 2005-06 with Philadelphia.
 
Last season, he tried playing with Modo, his hometown team in the Swedish Elite League, but he was limited to just 30 games. He did score 11 goals and 30 points in that limited time, however.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]