we clearly view this situation very differently:
Originally posted by crazedcanuck
#1. It has everything to do with putting his country first.. IT'S WHAT HE'S DOING!! Can't blame the man for wanting olympic gold, considering this is his last shot @ it in his lifetime.
The contract he signed to play for the Flyers should come first. If he's not healthy enough to fulfill his commitments to them, he should not be playing for Sweden. He "claims" he's now fully healed, but one wonders whether he would be playing for Philadelphia tomorrow night if they had a game. Further, he could (and should) be taking this opportunity to make sure he's in top health for the rest of the NHL season and playoffs. Forsberg does not have a good track record when it comes to his health.
Originally posted by crazedcanuck
##2. So who cares that he's going against his employer's wishes. Is it YOUR money??? Forsberg is simply doing what's afforded him in the CBA between the owners and players. He's doing nothing wrong, and you are singling out him amongst many other Flyer players, not to mention a ton of other NHLers that are in similar circumstances.
Forsberg deserves to be singled out -- he is doing something nobody else is. He hasn't played an NHL game since mid-January. He went into the Olympic break hurt and not playing, and has now decided he wants to play for Sweden. Give me an example of one of these "tons" of NHLers in "similar circumstances" -- someone who has not been playing for their NHL team, but has decided to play in the Olympics anyway. A number of other players (e.g., Naslund, Kiprusoff, Johnsson, Kapanen, Sturm, Hecht, Niedermayer, Miller etc.) withdrew from the Olympics to nurse injuries and respect the commitments they made to their NHL club (to whom they are under contract).
Originally posted by crazedcanuck
You can be pissed about what he's doing, but he's not doing anything wrong.
He is ABSOLUTELY doing something wrong if he's putting his ability to play healthy for the Flyers in jeopardy by playing for Sweden. I could care less whether he was Swedish, American, Canadian, whatever. He has an obligation to the Flyers - end of story.