The Philadelphia Flyers may have star centre Peter Forsberg back much earlier than anticipated. Forsberg, who had reconstructive surgery on his right ankle in the offseason, skated at an informal workout yesterday at the Flyers' practice rink in Voorhees, N.J. "It's hard to tell exactly how it feels the first time skating, but it's definitely fun to be out there much earlier than I thought or expected," he said. "It feels great to be back on the ice." Forsberg had not skated since the Flyers were eliminated in the first round of playoffs by the Buffalo Sabres. He took part in drills and a 40-minute scrimmage. He was not expected to return until late November or December, but he may be ready to start training camp Sept. 15.

Finally, Evgeni Malkin wasn't worried about hiding his emotions or himself. He signed the contract he wanted to sign, with the team he wants to play for. The 20-year-old, under so much pressure to keep playing in Russia that he hid out for five days in Finland to escape his Russian team, signed his first NHL contract yesterday with the Pittsburgh Penguins. No arm-twisting or middle-of-the-night negotiations were needed to make him sign a deal worth at least $3 million US and probably much more. "His dream was to come to Pittsburgh and start his career in the NHL and he had to go through a lot in the last couple of weeks to achieve that," Penguins owner Mario Lemieux said. "It's always difficult when you've got a different country and a different language and it will be tough for him for the next few months."

Saku Koivu will start training camp with lingering concern for his injured left eye, which was red and still partly closed when the Montreal Canadiens captain arrived at the team's annual charity golf tournament at Laval-Sur-La-Lac yesterday. It was a lot better than the swollen mess of last April, when he was clipped under his visor by a high stick from Carolina's Justin Williams during a playoff game. Koivu had surgery to repair a detached retina in the offseason. "It's going a lot better," he said, a touch of concern in his voice. "We'll do more tests next week. We're hoping for the best." The Canadiens first-line centre said he still has problems with peripheral vision and doesn't know if -- or how much -- it will affect his play.

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