Peter Forsberg will have surgery on both his feet and is estimated to be out of action until January of 2007.

Some quotes from Forsberg from the press conference.

Q: What have the doctors been telling you?
Forsberg: Basically my foot, I don’t know the exact term but I think it’s just supination, you lean outside on your foot. It’s very uncommon, the doctor was telling me some basketball players have this. Plus I have a very hard arch and my foot is kind of leaning toward the other side and that tears through the ligaments all the time and through the years it has been getting worse and worse and the foot is getting kind of crooked, that is kind of what is going on. Actually both (feet) are doing the same thing. So if I am going keep on playing I am going to have to get it (surgery) done. The boot doesn’t fit my foot, my foot doesn’t stick in the skate and then I can’t skate. If I get it done, straighten up the foot and repair the ligaments I think it’s going to be fine.

Q: Are you going to have to get it done on both feet or just the one?
Forsberg: Both actually. The right one is much worse then the left one but we are going to have to do the left one too.

Q: Are you going to be okay for Training Camp?
Forsberg: No, they haven’t told you how long I am gone? I think we are actually aiming for the first of January.

Q: This is when you will be ready to play, the first of January?
Forsberg: Yes.

Q: You said it was four-to-six weeks recover for each?
Forsberg: Four-to-six weeks is before I can walk on my right foot. And as soon as I can walk on my right foot we are doing the left one. And then I guess it’s six months after that for one foot to heal.

Q: When did you first start feeling this pain?
Forsberg: It’s not a pain thing it’s just that my foot did not really stick in the skate and it’s just getting worse and worse. I always had that problem when I was sitting on the outside and the ligaments just kept getting worse and worse. I don’t know exactly when it happened; it’s been going on and this year I kept on playing. In the long run it’s just going to get even worse and we want to get it done and get it fixed. I can’t tell you the exact date, sometimes I would find a good pair of skates and then played ok, but in the long run it is just going to get worse.

Q: Do you have any idea when you will have the first surgery?
Forsberg: The first surgery will be Monday (May 15) or Tuesday (May 16) hopefully.

Q: And then its four-to-six weeks before you can walk again correct?
Forsberg: Four-to-six weeks before the bone is healed in the right foot and as soon as I can take a step on the right foot I am doing the left one.

Q: And then what happens when you do the left? You go another four-to-six weeks before you can walk again?
Forsberg: Yeah, I am going to have the cast on the left foot after that. My foot is crooked and you have to go in and crack the bones in my foot. Not only do you have to go in and tighten up the tendons but you have to go in and crack the bones, too.

Ouch! Although missing Forsberg until January is going to hurt I can see a hidden blessing in all this. First having a healthy Forsberg for the second half of the season is better than having a injured Forsberg all year. Second, the Flyers will have to learn to win without him, so when he comes back it’s a bonus. And third cap room, with Forsberg out for that long it should free up over 2mill to go out and pick up a decent winger or defenseman.

Some quotes from Bob Clarke from the press conference.

Q: With Primeau out and now Forsberg, what does this mean to you for this off season?
Clarke: Peter missed about 20-25 games this season so we can play along without him for the length of time it takes. We are going to have to. And we believe that we will have Primeau back. If Primeau doesn’t come back then, there’s going to be some big holes. We’ll survive until Peter comes back and we’ll be stronger if Primeau comes back. We are going to be awfully young anyway. That will just put some more heat some of our pretty good young players.

Q: Will you or do you need to know something on Keith before July 1?
Clarke: No. I don’t think in Keith’s case, that we are really going to know about his status until we go through training camp. That is the only true test. We believe that he his going to be all right.

Q: Does your line-up stay the way it is, at least at the center position?
Clarke: Looking at it, we have Primeau, Handzus, Carter, Nedved, Umberger. We could switch Umberger if we needed to. If everybody is healthy at center we are pretty deep. Again, if we lose Primeau that will be a hole we found that we cannot replace. We couldn’t do it this year and I don’t know how we’d do it next year other than throw a young player in there I guess. That’s only if we find out that Keith can’t play. If he can’t play, even though you have that cap money, you don’t find that type of player. These are problems we are facing, but we don’t know the outcome.

Q: Is there anything you’ve learned in the last couple of days? I know there’s been a lot of meetings and reviews. Are there any answers you found in the last couple of days?
Clarke: Not really. We know that there has to be some changes heading into next year. We have to change our approach. Our style has to change somewhat. It sounds like an excuse and it is an excuse but I don’t know of anybody that could survive with the amount of injuries we had this season.

Should I be reading into anything with Richards name not being mentioned?
I am also starting to feel that Primeau wont be able to come back.