Anton Forsberg is ready for the challenge in Ottawa
Let me tell you a little story about Anton Forsberg. The guy I nicknamed ‘Foppa’ when we played together for the Springfield Falcons at the tail end of the 2013-14 season.
There was a month or so left in the AHL regular season, and Forsberg came to us on an ATO that he’d just signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets. A seventh-round pick in the 2011 Draft, Forsberg wasn’t a household name. But the Blue Jackets believed in him.
The plan was for Forsberg to get his feet wet in North America. Play a few games and get used to his surroundings. He was slated to play in the AHL full-time during the 2014-15 season within the Blue Jackets organization.
Good for him. Bad for me. Forsberg was set to take my job at the AHL level. And I knew from discussions with then-Columbus goalie coach Ian Clark that the Blue Jackets had lofty hopes for the Swedish puckstopper.
Clark raved about Forsberg’s skating and technical ability. He talked of his work ethic and attention to detail. And I knew when Forsberg and I stepped on the ice together in Springfield, Clark was right. He was the real deal.
Which is why I was surprised that it took Forsberg the better part of seven seasons – and multiple organizations – before he found a home in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators.
Forsberg appeared in 46 games for Ottawa last year, posting a .917 save percentage and a record of 22-17-4. He outplayed would-be No. 1 goaltender Matt Murray by a country mile. And in March, the 29-year old from Harnosand, Sweden was rewarded by Ottawa with a three-year contract worth $8.25 million.
I think Pierre Dorion was smart to keep Forsberg under contract through 2025, especially at such an affordable cap hit. But I have to confess something. When the Senators traded for Cam Talbot several months ago, I was a little disappointed.
I really like Talbot. So much so that I ranked the tandem of him and Forsberg eighth in the NHL leading into the 2022-23 campaign. And I understand why Dorion traded for the veteran netminder. Talbot has a record of success in the NHL that Forsberg has yet to attain. I would have made the deal, too.
But deep down, I wanted to see what Forsberg could do over the course of a full NHL season as a true No. 1 goaltender. I thought he earned that chance via his play last season. And now with the news that Talbot will be out for five to seven weeks with an upper body injury, Forsberg is staring down the best opportunity of his career.
Make no mistake about it: the net is Forsberg’s in Ottawa. Sure, the team claimed fellow Swede Magnus Hellberg off waivers from the Seattle Kraken on Monday. He’s been a quality goalie in the AHL and European pro leagues for quite some time. But Hellberg isn’t there to take Forsberg’s job. He’s a placeholder until Talbot returns.
Tracking the growth of a goaltender is difficult. Some peak early. Some see their performance flatline. But occasionally a netminder can find a new gear late in a career, and that’s the stage I think Forsberg is at.
Early in his career, consistency was an issue. But last season with Ottawa, Forsberg never lost more than two games in a row. And to me, that says something. The Senators were terrible defensively last year. Yet Forsberg kept grinding out wins, something Murray and Filip Gustavsson (with a combined record of 10-24-3 last season) couldn’t do.
Forsberg has always been something of a technical wizard. When he first came over from Sweden, I saw firsthand how adept he was at new techniques like RVH. Forsberg was ahead of the curve. But I think early in his career, Forsberg’s technicality hurt him. He had a tendency to overthink the position.
What I’ve seen recently from Forsberg is a goaltender comfortable in his own skin. He’s played in North America long enough to have a mental log of most players. And more than anything, he knows he belongs in the NHL.
I can’t tell you how powerful that is. And I think that self-confidence grew in Forsberg throughout the 2021-22 season. It’s not easy being in the crease knowing you’re going to get shelled on a nightly basis. The Senators gave up the sixth-most shots against per game last year.
But you know when Forsberg was at his best? When he saw the most rubber. Forsberg went 7-2-2 in games where he faced more than 40 shots.
I believe the Senators will be improved this season. Dorion has overhauled the team’s look by bringing in Talbot and forwards Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux. And I love the young core in Canada’s capital city, led by captain Brady Tkachuk.
Ottawa will be able to score. But I’m not sold on the team’s ability to defend. Forsberg probably won’t have it easy while Talbot is out. And the pressure is on to perform. But if the mental strength Forsberg showed last season is any predictor of the future, the Senators should feel confident in ‘Foppa.’ He’s just now reaching the prime of his career.
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