Edmonton Journal

Fisher back chasing Cup with his friends

- TERESA M. WALKER

Losing the Stanley Cup last June wasn’t what hurt Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg the most. Seeing how painful the loss was for veteran centre Mike Fisher proved even more agonizing.

“That was probably the worst feeling for me personally,” Forsberg said. “Seeing the look on Fish’s face, how close it was and obviously he didn’t know then if he had another chance. And yeah, he’s definitely one of the guys that I would love to win for.”

One final shot at the Stanley Cup that has eluded Fisher throughout his 17-year career wasn’t the priority last August when the 37-yearold centre announced his retirement. The Predators, who always wanted him back, persuaded him to return late this season with some help from Fisher’s wife, country star Carrie Underwood.

Fisher says the support means a lot to him.

“It also means you’re getting old, too,” Fisher quipped.

“You don’t have too many chances. But part of this coming back, too, wasn’t just about me, it was about the guys too and you figure try to help a group and do it together,” he said. “That’s the thing about team sports and hockey — is just having that fun together. There’s nothing like it. So it’s definitely more than just about me the old guy winning. It’s so much greater than that for sure.”

Fisher can play both ends of the ice and can win faceoff battles in the defensive zone. He also has played 1,104 regular-season games in his career. In this NHL post-season, only Toronto’s Patrick Marleau (182) and San Jose’s Joe Thornton (160) have played more playoff games than Fisher (140) without winning a Stanley Cup.

The six-foot-one centre is now in the playoffs with a Presidents’ Trophy winner. After finishing off Colorado in six games Sunday night, Nashville awaits a showdown with the Winnipeg Jets. Knowing the Predators had a great team was only part of why Fisher came out of retirement. Spending time with good friends added to the attraction.

“You look at your career and playoffs are what you do and you have so much fun,” Fisher said. “I’ve had the opportunit­y to have some pretty good runs. But you look back and those are really fun times that you enjoy and you remember with guys. And so it’s good memories.”

Fisher helped the Predators win their first Western Conference title last spring to reach the franchise’s first Stanley Cup final. Then they lost in six games to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Fisher didn’t make a decision on retirement until August. General manager David Poile signed Nick Bonino as a free agent away from Pittsburgh. In November, Poile acquired centre Kyle Turris from Ottawa, giving Nashville plenty of depth. The Predators kept the door open to their former captain. They started talking more in December, knowing the depth needed to play into June. Underwood also kept asking Fisher what he wanted to do. The husband and father who had focused on building a house and a hunting show finally said yes.

Fisher announced his return Jan. 31. He spent February working his way into shape and signed a one-year deal for the rest of the season Feb. 2. Fisher scored in his first game back, a 4-3 win in Vancouver on March 2.

Against Colorado, Fisher centred Nashville’s fourth line. He averaged 11 minutes, 16 seconds per game in the first round while winning 75.5 per cent of his faceoffs.

 ??  ?? Mike Fisher
Mike Fisher

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