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Wednesday, November 10, 1999
Torgy's time
Last month, his NHL career was effectively over.
His flight booked for Germany, Pavel Torgaev had given up on his NHL comeback dream.
Tonight, though, he skates onto the Saddledome ice, not only a member of the Calgary Flames, but centre of the top scoring line.
The last cut of the Flames in training camp, Torgaev had seen his last attempt to resurrect his NHL dream fall just short. At 33 years old, he wanted to give it one last shot.
But a week after that disappointment, as he packed for one final year in Germany, he received a call from Flames GM Al Coates.
Calgary had injury problems. Was Torgaev still in shape, asked Coates.
Torgaev, who played part of the 1995-96 season in Calgary, hung up the phone wondering how serious the Flames were. Turns out they were desperate and signed him to a one-year contract for $300,000.
Torgaev's comeback was alive.
"When they cut me, I thought it was my last chance to play the NHL," said the soft-spoken native of Gorky, Russia.
"I thought I was finished, maybe I would play one more year in Europe. This is a second chance.
"I was so excited to get the chance and I've just tried to show my best, to prove myself."
He made an immediate impression. On the recent six-game road trip, Torgaev found himself on the powerplay in just his second game, and now centres the line with sniper Val Bure.
He's shown good offensive skills, but not found a way to score. When your career hangs by a thread, that's one way to unravel any chance of staying.
Torgaev torpedoed his NHL aspirations a couple of seasons ago when he was assigned to Saint John but quit to play in Europe.
The father of two boys, Dmitri , 11, and Michael, 2, Torgaev left for Europe to make more money to support his wife, Natasha, and their kids. He returned because he had something to prove.
"It's the best league and my family has stayed here in Calgary. My son is going to school. My parents are coming here to help, so it's a big point for why I want to stay here," says Torgaev.
"But the first point is that I want to prove to myself that I can play here in the NHL. When I went to Europe two years ago, it was a big mistake, especially for my fitness."
A dedicated off-season conditioning program has produced a player who now adds a physical element to his play, utilizing his size as compared to the passive game he played before.
Off the ice, Torgaev remains a re-cluse. He can speak English, but feels most comfortable in the company of Russian teammates Bure and Andrei Nazarov. They sit together on planes and buses, have dinners after games.
"Call us the Commie Three," laughs Bure.
"Torgy is a pretty quiet person. He doesn't say much -- he's the kind of guy who keeps everything inside, so you can't see how much he feels. He talks to us because it's probably easier to express himself in Russian.
"It's very important to him to be here, but he still is a little nervous. And it's tough for him because he wasn't in the league for a few years, and then he came back, they didn't sign him, and then they brought him back. I feel bad for him, but he's got to work through that."
The return of Jason Wiemer from injury may affect Torgy's status. But for now, it's a chance he didn't have just a month ago.
"Torgy is a guy who has to play desperate," said head coach Brian Sutter. "He's a big, strong guy who gets lots of good chances by going strong to the net. He had a couple of great chances every game on that road trip, but he has to start scoring on those.
"Let's face it, it's a day-to-day career for him right now, like it is for a lot of his guys, and at his age there has to be that desperation to stay."
Torgaev never expected this comeback to be a walk in Gorky Park.
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