In the middle of a playoff, Peter Forsberg was at a restaurant – when his body suddenly started to ache.
The words from his doctor were sheer terror, and the fear grew even worse in hospital.
– I was close to dying, says Forsberg.
Peter Forsberg was in the form of his life during the 2000/2001 season. There weren’t many seasons that Foppa got to go injury free during his years in the NHL, but now he had, and he started the playoffs brilliantly. But well into the second round, the accident happened, to say the least.
The doctor’s horror words
The Avalanche had just knocked off the LA Kings in the seventh and all-time deciding game of which team advanced to the third round. Afterwards, the team celebrated at a restaurant, when Foppa suddenly fell ill.
– I had no idea what had happened. I was at a restaurant and suddenly it started to hurt all over my left side. I called our team doctor and he said, “The worst it could be is a ruptured spleen,” says Forsberg on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast.
Forsberg had to leave the team dinner and go to the hospital instead, but his team doctor’s horror scenario hadn’t given him much thought.
– I went to the hospital and I thought: “It’s not that dangerous”, he says.
But then things changed quickly.
– But an hour later, I have 1.7 liters of blood in my body, and I was close to dying.
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The question in hospital
Peter Forsberg had to undergo surgery and the situation stabilized quickly, and then he asked the only question he was thinking about.
– I remember asking the doctor: “Will I be okay?”, and he said yes, I will be fine. And my next question was: “Can I play more in the playoffs?”. I didn’t care too much about the surgery, I was just sad that I couldn’t play more in the playoffs.
Peter Forsberg had to rest through the entire upcoming season. At least the basic series of it. He returned to the playoffs the following year – and had the most points of any player.
– It was close that I didn’t even get to play in that playoff. But I was thrown in at the last moment, and I was in good shape. I had trained hard for ten straight months. I was in very good shape.
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