When did Forsberg peak?

Lexus

OWN THE MOMENT.
Jan 29, 2009
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I think he peaked in the press box while out for an injury circa 2000.

Forsberg was a fantastic player, but like some other short career players he gets the benefit of never really playing past his prime. His legend has grown more since he retired than when he played.

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flipp

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Jan 11, 2010
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I think he peaked in the press box while out for an injury circa 2000.

Forsberg was a fantastic player, but like some other short career players he gets the benefit of never really playing past his prime. His legend has grown more since he retired than when he played.
I think it is the opposite. Forsberg was always in the discussion regarding the best player in NHL during his career. Many people on this board forget this and think he had a short peak around 2003-2005 but take a look at TSN yearbook ranking and compare Forsberg to Jagr who is the only player that is close to Forsberg during this time span.
Forsberg was ranked first 2 times, second 4 times and top 5 ten years in a row.

19961997199819992000200120022003200420052006
Jagr2Top 5411141420123
Forsberg5Top 53224211213
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
 
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The Panther

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Forsberg was an awesome player, for sure, with the only limitation being his missed games (see also: Mario, Lindros, Crosby, etc.).

If we project his stats to full seasons of 82 games, this is what it works out to:
1995 -- 87 points (highest scoring rookie by far)
1995/96 -- 116 points
1996/97 -- 108 points
1997/98 -- 104 points
1998/99 -- 102 points
1999/00 -- 85 points
2000/01 -- 100 points
2001/02 (missed entire regular season)
2002/03 -- 116 points
2003/04 -- 116 points
2005/06 -- 103 points (with Philly)

In other words, 1999-00 is the only season between 1995 and 2006 when he wasn't pacing for 100+ points. And looking at his game-logs from that season, he missed the first six weeks or so, came back in late November (5 points in his first game back), had 35 points in 26 games, and then only 16 in the last 23, which makes me think he was fighting an injury.

But anyway, what's most impressive is that this prime-time was smack-dab in the peak of the dead-puck era, so his 110 points per year projected would be, like, 130 in most eras. He was at that level for 11 straight seasons, while being physically dominant and having an incredible plus/minus result, five-on-five.
 
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flipp

Registered User
Jan 11, 2010
164
90
Forsberg was an awesome player, for sure, with the only limitation being his missed games (see also: Mario, Lindros, Crosby, etc.).

If we project his stats to full seasons of 82 games, this is what it works out to:
1995 -- 87 points (highest scoring rookie by far)
1995/96 -- 116 points
1996/97 -- 108 points
1997/98 -- 104 points
1998/99 -- 102 points
1999/00 -- 85 points
2000/01 -- 100 points
2001/02 (missed entire regular season)
2002/03 -- 116 points
2003/04 -- 116 points
2005/06 -- 103 points (with Philly)

In other words, 1999-00 is the only season between 1995 and 2006 when he wasn't pacing for 100+ points. And looking at his game-logs from that season, he missed the first six weeks or so, came back in late November (5 points in his first game back), had 35 points in 26 games, and then only 16 in the last 23, which makes me think he was fighting an injury.

But anyway, what's most impressive is that this prime-time was smack-dab in the peak of the dead-puck era, so his 110 points per year projected would be, like, 130 in most eras. He was at that level for 11 straight seasons, while being physically dominant and having an incredible plus/minus result, five-on-five.
1996-97 was a pretty impressive season by Forsberg. 86 points in 65 games in the regular season and then 17 points in 14 playoff-games and last but not least a second place in the selke trophy voting. It is almost impossible to choose when Forsberg peaked it could be anytime between 97 and 2005.
 
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NoMessi

Registered User
Jan 2, 2009
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This thread is a great reminder that he had a longer prime than I could remember.

The problem with judging when he peaked is that in the late 90s he was up against a peak Jagr and a peak Hasek. You dont steal Harts from them, or Lemieux for that matter.

Its all about timing, Benn wouldnt win an Art Ross most years, but he had perfect timing. Same with Crosbys Rockets or Theodores Hart.
 
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