Las vigas. The Carolina Hurricanes didn’t see Gustav Forsling’s potential and let him disappear due to alleged waivers two years ago.
They may bitterly regret it now, because the 26-year-old Eastner has since become one of the defining leaders of the Florida Panthers squad who have already shattered the dreams of Boston and Toronto and plan to sink another favorite in the Conference Finals.
– Revenge? Well, I’m just thinking we won. But obviously, it would be a little fun to take them out, Bobby Ursling tells Sportbladet.
As we speak, the Florida Panthers have just landed in Raleigh and are heading to their hotel for the team’s last joint dinner before the Conference Finals series opener against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The vistas Gustav sees through the bus window are all too familiar, because in the summer of 2019 he was traded from Chicago to Carolina and then spent a full season at the club.
Strangely enough, neither general manager Don Waddell nor usually shrewd coach Rod Brind’Amore failed to see the potential of the young Swede. So he didn’t stand a chance on an NHL team. Instead, he was sent after training camp to the AHL and remained in the AHL – until the Florida Panthers picked him up on waivers for the 20-21 season.
There, then-coach Joel Quenneville had a much clearer picture of Gustave’s potential greatness and promptly prepared a place for him in the lineup.
“It has nothing to do with this decision.”
Now he forms the first linebacker pairing with Aaron Ekblad, gets the most ice time of anyone on the team and plays with such finesse that team captain Alexander Barkov recently dubbed him “Bobby Ursling”.
As teammate Patrick Hornqvist – who is still sidelined with concussions, sadly – says when we ask what makes a good Forsling:
– He’s the perfect, fresh, modern defender: patient all-round, terribly quick, on skates and therefore always in a good position.
The Carolina bosses should be cheating that they let such a resource slip through their fingers – and should worry them a little that he might get his revenge on them this spring.
Gustav himself – who played for the LHC in his hometown of Linköping before crossing the Atlantic seven years ago – doesn’t attach much importance to this particular aspect.
No, it’s not something I think about often. I’m just thinking we’ll win. And revenge… The players on the team have nothing to do with those decisions.
“reminds us”
But can you give the general manager a little nosebleed?
– Well, yes, it is clear. In this way, it can be quite interesting to eliminate tornadoes in particular. But that’s not the important thing for me at all.
You’ve had a very special trip, do you agree?
– Absolutely. My career could have taken a completely different turn and be very different if I hadn’t ended up here in Florida, that’s right.
Do you yourself know that you have this ability, although it turned out to be the same as Carolina?
– Yes, I did. I believed in myself and you have to do it if you play hockey at this level, otherwise it just won’t work. But you have to get a chance too. On the other hand, I think you will eventually get it, if you are good enough and just persevere.
Yes, you could end up being part of memorable seasons like the one the Panthers staged this year, when they fell to favorite after favorite with no other plans than to fall into the Conference Finals.
It gets more difficult as you go and Carolina is a very good team. Which also reminds us, we play quite similarly. There will be a lot of foreclosure checking and puck dumping and I’m going both ways now. will disappear. But we have a lot of confidence, and the atmosphere in the team is very good, Jos continues.
They rested, too, cats. When the puck drops at PNC Arena tonight, it’s been almost a week since they turned out the lights for the Maple Leafs, and it’s about game time.
But no, Gustav didn’t take the opportunity to relax with his favorite pastime, fishing!
– No, haha, it’s too hot in Florida right now, and if you’re in the middle of a playoff game, you shouldn’t stay in the sun too much. When I go out hunting I spend the whole day to myself so I will probably have to wait until I get home to Sweden.
And then maybe a good chunk of revenge is already on the hook…