Forsberg Looks Back, Ahead to Future as Offseason Arrives for Preds

Filip Forsberg didn't mean any disrespect when he told members of the media on Tuesday he would rather not be speaking about the season that was.
Preparing for a Game 5 back in Colorado would have been preferred, but as the Predators saw their run come to a close on Monday night, a four-game sweep at the hands of the Avalanche, Forsberg and his teammates were left disappointed, to say the least.
So, the Nashville winger, who tallied a career-high 42 goals - just one off of teammate Matt Duchene's 43 for the franchise record - over the past six-plus months, was instead reflecting on what was, what could have been and what's still to come.

Forsberg, whose six-year contract is set to expire in a matter of weeks, spent time Tuesday reiterating his desire to remain with the Predators in Nashville, the only NHL team he's ever played for.
"I've said that since day one - the goal is to come back here," Forsberg said. "And the business side is completely different than the on-ice side, as you guys are aware of, and just kind of have to wait and see and play it out. There has been obviously some progression throughout the season from where we started in September, and me and my agent and [Predators General Manager] David [Poile] and [Predators Assistant General Manager] Brian [Poile] and the management - there's going to be an ongoing conversation in the process, and we'll just have to see where we end up."
Both sides want that final destination to remain unchanged, and Forsberg also stated his belief that the direction of the Predators franchise remains pointed on a positive trajectory.
"I've been fortunate enough to be on this team for a long time now and made the playoffs every year, but at the same time, every player plays to win the Stanley Cup, and so do I," Forsberg said. "That's my biggest goal, and I do believe that we have a team that can make that in the future. I think that's the direction that a team has to be heading, and I think we are."

Forsberg was a key contributor to a regular season that turned out to be better than just about anyone expected for the Predators as he and Duchene became the first two 40-goal scorers in team history. But, the sting of the postseason loss remains fresh, and Forsberg took time to talk things out as he analyzed the campaign that was.
"The regular season was great, and I thought we battled hard through all the games and had some really good individual efforts," Forsberg said. "Obviously [Preds Captain Roman Josi] had a phenomenal season, [Duchene] broke records, I had a good year, [goaltender Juuse Saros] obviously nominated for the Vezina, too, and just overall, I think we had a lot of really good performances throughout the lineup. We earned our spot in the playoffs and ran into possibly the best team in the NHL, obviously an incredible team. I thought we played hard, I thought we gave them a good fight, but at the same time it was 4-0, and I guess that speaks for itself."
Time will tell how the summertime plays out for Forsberg, who will also marry his fiancée, Erin, in the months ahead, but he also plans on using the offseason to remember the frustration that exists at this point in time and use it to his advantage during his training. It's a feeling he doesn't want to have one day, and he plans on doing his part to reverse the trend.
"It's going to take a little bit of time to kind of analyze and recover from this one, but I'm proud of the guys," Forsberg said. "You see the team going in the right direction. Nobody had us going to the playoffs. Nobody had us pushing for anything but basically to beat Arizona for the bottom spot in the division. I thought we did a lot of good things that we can build on it. And yeah, every time we stand here, it's up to every individual to come back ready to go and be better."