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Foppa Mania: Peter Forsberg makes his NHL return tonight against Columbus

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Tonight the comeback becomes official. According to Adrian Dater of The Denver Post, Peter Forsberg will play tonight in Columbus for the Colorado Avalanche against the Blue Jackets.

Forsberg hasn’t played in the NHL since the 2007-2008 season with the Avalanche. That year he played nine games and had a goal and 13 assists. If Forsberg can produce in similar fashion, and playing on a line with Matt Duchene and Milan Hejduk will help, Forsberg’s addition to the lineup could be the spark the team needs to get out of its funk.

As always, the fear with Forsberg comes with his health and playing in games is a much different animal than skating and doing drills in practice. Forsberg might be a step slower but he’s still got a big, physical presence on the ice and his ability to help create plays could be a huge benefit for Duchene in particular. If his foot can stay healthy and he can avoid the persistent problems he’s had with it throughout the latter half of his career, this comeback may actually turn out successfully.

That said, skepticism runs wild when it comes to Forsberg. The last time we saw him on the ice was during the 2010 Winter Olympics playing for Sweden. Forsberg played in four games and had one assist for Team Sweden and looked rather average while doing so. It’s been almost a full year since those games and you’d have to think that Forsberg is in better shape since then, but if his skills look how they did during the Olympics, we may be left feeling a bit flat seeing a Peter Forsberg at half-speed.

Buckle in fans because this could be the last turn in the NHL for a once-dominant power forward.