Pierre Turgeon isn’t trying to be the new Peter Forsberg. He’s just trying to be the old Pierre Turgeon.
If he gets anywhere close, Avalanche fans will have an easier time dealing with the free-agent loss of the immensely popular and talented Forsberg. While there has been much consternation among Avalanche loyalists over the loss of Forsberg, only 27 players in the history of the NHL have scored more points than Turgeon’s 1,274.
If and when Turgeon, 36, scores his fifth goal for Colorado this season, he will become only the 34th player to reach 500. These are Hockey Hall of Fame numbers.
Turgeon is the first to admit, how- ever, his numbers from the past three seasons – all with the Dallas Stars – were not Hall of Fame-caliber. But his subpar output might have been more a case of misuse than declining skills. For reasons Turgeon can’t explain, he rarely was used at his natural center position in Dallas. After 14 productive seasons as a center, the Stars decided to use Turgeon mostly as a winger – an experiment that never worked.
“They just wanted to have a different role for me,” Turgeon said. “I think the last three months, maybe four months, I played center there and that’s it. They put me at left wing, which was very unusual for me.”
Turgeon always was known as a premier setup man on the power play, but the Stars used him sparingly there, too.
“A lot of times (I didn’t) get on the power play at all, or maybe got 15 seconds,” he said. “So, what do you do? You can only control what you can control. All you can do is do your best on the ice and try to show the coach that you want to have a big role and responsibility. But at the end of the day, if he feels he wants to go with somebody else, this is not your decision.”
Turgeon does not have to worry about being a winger under new Avs coach Joel Quenneville. Turgeon is back at center and has been assured that’s where he will stay.
“He’s looked good so far in camp, and he’s still got a lot of skill with the puck,” said Quenneville, who coached Turgeon for five seasons in St. Louis.
Perhaps that explains the upbeat tone in the Rouyn, Quebec, native’s voice after the second day of Avalanche training camp.
“I feel really good about myself and I still love the game,” said Turgeon, who signed a two-year, $3 million contract with Colorado. “Maybe my role here is to bring leadership on the ice and help the kids maybe get better. There’s some great kids in here with a lot of skill.
“I’m going to bring everything I can to this team, bring the best I can every shift. And winning battles on the boards and really competing – I’m going to do this.”
Former Avs winger Claude Lemieux played with Turgeon in Dallas in 2003 and said there is plenty left in Turgeon’s tank, provided he is used properly.
“He’s an excellent center man and very good on faceoffs,” Lemieux said. “That’s obviously his best position, and I think he’ll bounce back with a good year for the Avalanche.”
If Turgeon were a teenager again, which he was when he first entered the NHL in 1987 with Buffalo as the league’s No. 1 draft choice, he might not be so modest about replacing Forsberg as one of Colorado’s top two centers. At that time, he was considered the best young talent to come out of Quebec since Mario Lemieux and had some big seasons for the Sabres, Islanders, Canadiens and Blues.
But he admits he is on the “back nine” of his career and knows he isn’t the same player as Forsberg.
“Peter is probably one of the best, or the best, player in the league right now,” said Turgeon, who was a pitcher for his Quebec team that advanced to the semifinals of the 1982 Little League World Series. “You can’t compare myself to Peter, but I’m going to say this: I’m going to bring a lot of good things to this team.”
Staff writer Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-820-5454 or adater@denverpost.com.
