"He was the most talented guy I ever played with, for just pure raw talent. But more than that, he was a winner and a total gamer, he just wanted to win. He didn't care who scored all the goals or who got all the credit. He just wanted to win, and that's why his teams won as much as they did. We were all very lucky to play with him." "He was such an unselfish player, he loved to setup teammates, he's passing ability was second to none. He created alot of empty nets for alot of players and im one of the big benefactors from him, I got alot of easy goals thanks to Peter. There was nobody in my era there that was as skilled as him and that could play that tough style of hockey and i know when see other friends, he's the one player they mentioned they hated to play against. I got to play with Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and all these guys, but there's not one guy that i could compare Forsberg with, he could beat you up physically or he could beat somebody up and bang them around and then take the puck and make the nicest pass ever, no-one else had that. -- Joe Sakic
"Peter Forsberg is one of the best hockey players that ever played the game, and I actually don't think that anyone has been so good as Peter was during his peak, I've played against him alot, so I should know." -- Vjatjeslav Fetisov
At the HHOF induction, was asked the question on which player he thinks it's the best he ever played against. -- I would probably say that Forsberg is the best player I ever played against" -- Scott Stevens
"Some of the stuff he does is just ridiculous. Jaromir Jagr is big and strong like Forsberg, but Jagr doesn't fight back if you play him tough like Forsberg does. "I think he's the toughest player in the game to play against." -- Derian Hatcher
"For me, an agitator is somebody who controls the emotion of the game," "And Peter definitely controls the emotion of the game for them." "The only thing that stopped Forsberg is that he ran out of gas when they double- and tripleshifted him, and he wasn't able to use his speed, plus his strength," Hitchcock says. "I remember one time he kept the puck in our end for 40, maybe 50 seconds, and we couldn't get the thing away from him. His ability to knock Derian Hatcher on his butt while giving up 40 pounds shows how he can completely control and dominate a game. He's a player with skill and talent who occasionally goes maniacal. Boy, he gets a really strange look in his eyes. It's like the same steely glare that Mark Messier always gets, and you don't want to be anywhere near him." -- Ken Hitchcock
"Obviously one of the best players in the league the last 15 years, a guy who really controlled the play when he was on the ice, and there's only a handful of guy's in the league at any given era that really, actually controlled the play when the're where on the ice, just his combination of skill, strenght, determinition, and a bit of meanness or alot of meanness actually made him one of the best players to play." -- Steve Yzerman
"Peter is the best all-around player in the NHL, bar none. He's a competitor. He's the ultimate warrior. His hands are electric. He's one of the smartest players on the ice, and he knows where everybody is. He always makes the right play, and he even makes the plays you don't think he can make. He's so fast on his feet and so powerful. And he's mean. The guy is so talented, he's disgusting to watch." -- Jeremy Roenick
"If you could be anyone else in hockey, who would it be?" -- "That's easy. Peter Forsberg," (Claude) Lemieux says. "I could still be mean and nasty, but if I had all of the skills that he has, I might have won five or six Stanley Cups by now. "I can only dream of skating like Peter. Either that or buy some rocket-powered skates." "(After seeing) a Michael Jordan or a Wayne Gretzky, you think you've seen it all," Lemieux says, "and then Peter shows you something entirely new. "It's the way he creates space, uses space. It's the way he sees the ice. It's the way he picks up speed even after he picks up the puck. And it's the meanness, the nastiness." -- Claude Lemieux
"He's a coach's dream. The more crucial the time in a game or a series, the tougher he gets. I think sometimes he's able to flip on a switch in his mind and be at a different level than everyone else. " -- Ray Bourque
"Peter's ability to change the game was bar none, he could bring so many elements to a game to change it... My best advice when you're playing against Peter is to go change and let someone else play against him." -- Adam Deadmarsh
"The toughest NHL player you ever played against?" -- Quite easily Peter Forsberg. We have had our battles (he said laughing)... Forsberg was a one-man wrecking crew. He was so skilled and yet so powerful.. the man could simply do it all and at the same time he was hard as nails. He was extremely tough to play against. He was down right nasty." -- Chris Chelios
Some tidbits:
1997 --- Mike Milbury distilled the dilemma to these words: "Who are you going to check?"
Eight hours before a recent game between the New York Islanders and the Colorado Avalanche, Milbury, the Islanders' coach and general manager, pinpointed the predicament in which Colorado's opponents find themselves: If, like most teams, you have one checking line, whom do you try to shut down, Joe Sakic or Peter Forsberg? Who is better?
Milbury gives the edge to Forsberg, whom he calls "the best player in the league right now, no question."
1998 --- "He's so strong on his skates. He is the toughest European I've ever seen," -- Mike Keane.
1998: Oilers assistant coach Bob McCammon says that Forsberg has the meanness of Mark Messier, the dirtiness of Ken Linseman, the smarts of Wayne Gretzky and the strength of Bryan Trottier.
1999 --- When Gretzky retired in he was asked who was the best player in the game today (then). Wayne said that there were three or four superstars in the game, but when the reporter pressed him, Gretzky made only one reference: "Forsberg is something special."
2000 --- Michael Farber: Forsberg's brilliance comes from a unique amalgam of skills, styles and attitudes. If you borrowed a dollop of Jaromir Jagr's intimidating strength on the puck, a drop of Paul Kariya's speed, a dash of John LeClair's stevedore toughness, a pinch of Teemu Selanne's finesse, a healthy dose of Michael Peca's body-checking skills and a full measure of Steve Yzerman's commitment to playing all 200 feet of the ice, the product would be a rough approximation of Forsberg.
2004 --- Barry Melrose: "Anyone who knows hockey knows Forsberg is the best player in the world. I visited seven different training camps before this season to interview several players, and 90 percent of them told me without hesitation that Forsberg is the best hockey player in the world. His peers respect him as such and I don't think there is much doubt about it."
2006 --- Sports Illistrated Poll (Based on a survey of 346 NHL players.)
Who is the best player in the NHL?
Peter Forsberg, Flyers C 42%
Jaromir Jagr, Rangers RW 24%
Jarome Iginla, Flames RW 9%
Joe Thornton, Sharks C 5%
