Avalanche star Peter Forsberg skated on the Pepsi Center ice Saturday morning as a member of the Avs for the first time since 2005. But Forsberg did not play Saturday night against the Los Angeles Kings.
He may not be ready to return by Tuesday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, either.
“I’d like to get a couple of good practices in before playing,” Forsberg said. “This is not like the beer league. I don’t want to rush back before it feels ready.”
The Avs’ schedule — not to mention visa issues in Vancouver, British Columbia — has limited Forsberg’s ability to practice with the team since his signing on Monday. The Avs don’t practice today, which leaves Monday’s practice as the first one Forsberg will have with the full team.
If he doesn’t play against the Canucks, Forsberg presumably would make his return Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks at the Pepsi Center.
“This is normal,” Avs general manager Francois Giguere said. “If you look at Teemu Selanne in Anaheim, it took him a few days to play after he returned. Same thing with Scott Niedermayer. So this is nothing out of the ordinary.”
Forsberg returned to Denver on Friday night from Vancouver, but did not have his own Lower Downtown penthouse to go home to. He rented it out to Nuggets forward Nene and won’t evict him now.
“If he was 5-6 or something, maybe I would have,” Forsberg quipped. “But he’s too big. I know the area, I’m sure I will find something.”
