Pierre Turgeon is 37 years old. Specks of gray dot his day-old growth, and Turgeon grimaces slightly when pawing his stubbled chin. Other than that, there is no concession to age from the Avalanche forward.
A full recovery from surgery for a shoulder ailment that pretty much wiped out the second half of last season and first two months of this one has the native of Rouyn, Quebec, feeling like his old self.
Not the current “old self,” which some players gladly rib him about, but the self that once was one of the NHL’s top young scorers.
This is a player who once scored 58 goals and 132 points in one season (1992-93) with the New York Islanders, who has 1,324 points (514 goals) in 1,281 career games. The skill needed to produce those kinds of numbers doesn’t just disappear overnight. After all, 37 also is the age of Joe Sakic, and nobody is calling him over the hill just yet.
“I’m feeling comfortable out there,” Turgeon said Thursday after the Avs’ practice. “The surgery went well, and I can’t thank (team physician) Andrew Parker enough. It took a long time, but I feel very confident right now. Things turned out good, and I’m just very happy here right now.”
With age comes opportunity for reflection, but Turgeon isn’t thinking about the past. It’s all about the here and now, a philosophical shift that Turgeon admits wasn’t there in his younger days.
“You’re young, you think about your next contract and things like that. But for me, I’m just savoring every moment now,” Turgeon said. “I don’t want things to go by me and say, ‘You know what, I should have appreciated things a little more.’ I’m appreciating everything right now, and it’s all about coming down, having fun and winning hockey games.”
Turgeon has three goals and one assist in four games since returning to the lineup. He is playing left wing on the second line, playing alongside a center (Paul Stastny) whose father, Peter, he once played against.
Even Turgeon laughs and shakes his head at that.
“I see his father so much in him, it’s amazing,” he said. “He’s a very smart player, very smart with the puck. You can’t teach that.”
Stastny, however, says he has already learned from playing with Turgeon.
“He’s so patient with the puck, such a great passer,” Stastny said. “He set me up perfect with (a goal Wednesday night). It’s been great playing with him.”
Turgeon has no illusions that he can be the 132-point player he once was. But he does not, and never did, believe he was over the hill.
“Like I said, I feel good and just want to help win hockey games,” Turgeon said. “I love playing on this team. Great bunch of guys, and I’m excited going forward. I don’t think about next year, or how long I’ll play or anything. I just want to have fun today and not think about tomorrow.”
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com.
