Peter Forsberg is gone.
That was the news greeting 8-year-old Reid Goodman as he skated off the ice Wednesday night at The Edge Ice Arena in Littleton while Forsberg skated off to the deeper pockets of the Philadelphia Flyers.
What’s a young fan to do when his favorite player leaves town?
“I think I will like the Philadelphia (Flyers),” Goodman said after a moment’s hesitation and quick sideway glance.
News of Forsberg’s departure was met with shock and resentment among hockey and Avalanche fans, many of whom were still reacting to the loss of longtime defenseman Adam Foote this week to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
For most, the news was a stark reminder that hockey has changed dramatically under its new collective bargaining agreement.
But for those accustomed to only good news from the wheeling and dealing of Avalanche general manager Pierre Lacroix, this week has left them befuddled.
“You got to believe, you want to hope, that Pierre Lacroix has something up his sleeve,” said Matt Liebgott, 46, of Superior. “But it doesn’t look like it.”
Leaning against his hockey stick, Liebgott said watching Forsberg play for the Flyers would be strange and difficult. He also predicted the Avalanche organization would suffer Forsberg’s loss at the ticket booth.
“There are people that truly know hockey, and then there are people that have been taken up by the Avs and the success of the team and those names,” Liebgott said. “Nobody is going to replace the name of Forsberg.”
Archie Rosenberg, 24, a Minnesota native and avid hockey fan, agreed that the Avs have no chance of filling the shoes of “the best European hockey players to play the game.”
But Rosenberg believed Forsberg’s departure was proof that player loyalty doesn’t exist and Colorado’s loss is really fallout from years of salary abuse that crippled the NHL.
“It’s all about the money or the (Stanley) Cups, which doesn’t bother me,” Rosenberg said. “The owners put themselves in that position.”
Playing hockey on the street in Morrison, Jeff Barela and friends David and Aaron Lewis were upset by the news, but said it would not shake their support for the Avs.
David Lewis, 12, said Forsberg was the heart and soul of the franchise. Barela, 15, said an Avs’ roster without Forsberg would take a while to get used to.
“I still like (the Avs), but it’s just going to be a lot different,” Barela said. “I don’t think they’ll have the same spirit or chemistry.”
