Peter Forsberg
Calder Memorial Trophy winner (1994-95)
2x Stanley Cup Champion (1995-96, 2000-01)
Hart Memorial Trophy winner (2002-03)
Art Ross Trophy (2002-03)
Olympic gold medalist (1994, 2006)
World championship gold medalist (1992, 1998)
Triple Gold Club member
Named among the NHL’s “100 Greatest Players”
Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee (2014)
249-636–885 over 708 GP
The year was 1996, the host was Paul Romanuk, and the player was Peter Forsberg.
A 2014 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, and one of the 100 Greatest Players (as decided by the NHL as part of their centennial anniversary), Forsberg was a generational player that inspired a plethora of future NHL'ers.
Want proof (past his Stanley Cups and Art Ross, Calder Memorial, and Hart Memorial trophies)?
Look no further than the 2017-18 NHLPA Player Poll, which surveyed over 500 current players on a variety of hockey-related topics. The Ornskoldsvik, Sweden-born centre's name appeared three times – earning a nod among the top five best forwards of all time and the player (current or former) most desired to have as a teammate. Most notably, Forsberg was the top answer to who the current membership's favourite player growing up was, and netted 8.4% of 379 total votes on the question.
Interestingly enough, when asked for his opinion who the toughest guy in the NHL to play against is, he answered none other than Eric Lindros – the sole player sent the other way in the infamous Jan. 21, 1995 trade that brought Forsberg to the Nordiques alongside five other players.
We know Forbserg could light the lamp, but in this week's episode, we see how fares at the shooting range with a few of his teammates from back in '96 who would go on to win the Stanley Cup that year. Keep your eyes peeled for appearances from Colorado Avalanche fan-favourites Adam Deadmarsh and Mike Ricci!
Then and Now
Forsberg finished his professional hockey career with some serious accolades in addition to the aforementioned ones. Some of his most memorable moments didn't even happen on NHL ice – one of the biggest ones even before he laced them up in the big leagues. The Triple Gold Club member most famously pulled off a fake on Canadian goaltender Corey Hirsch to backhand a goal that handed Sweden their first Olympic gold medal in hockey.
With the time in between, Forsberg was awarded a scoring title, judged most valuable to his team, and won two Stanley Cups since winning the Calder Memorial trophy as a member of the Quebec Nordiques in his rookie season.
Though Forsberg has circled back to the NHL for various events and celebrations, such as serving as an ambassador at the 2017 Global Series in Sweden, he's made it clear that if he was return to the game in any capacity, it would be to the hometown Swedish Hockey League team he was once the assistant GM of, MODO.
“I was involved with MODO and in Sweden I will never get involved with another team. … My heart is with MODO so I’m not going to do anything else,” Forsberg has said.
Watch the episode above for more career highlights from Peter Forsberg, and check out the rest of the series below.