Olympics would be dream come true for Toews

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Jonathan Toews calls GM Place here one of his favorite rinks.

Toews won a gold medal playing for Canada in the World Junior Championships at GM Place in 2006, and it's where he made his return from his knee injury Sunday night against the Canucks.

So guess where the 2010 Winter Olympics will be played? That's right, GM Place.

There's a chance Toews will be part of Canada's Olympic team two years from now. A story in Saturday's Globe and Main, Canada's national newspaper, had Toews receiving 2 votes from a panel of 12 experts assembled to predict who might make the club.

"That's a dream," Toews said. "I guess if it's not this time around, I might have another opportunity someday. That's a huge compliment for me. I've had a couple good experiences playing for Team Canada and hopefully I'll have that chance someday once again."

It's going to be an incredibly difficult team to make.

"He should be on that team, no question," Hawks coach Denis Savard said. "Just the fact how he plays, his will, his hockey sense, he plays two ways -- him and (Sidney) Crosby would be a pretty good 1-2 punch at center with (Eric) Staal in there, too."

A Vancouver reporter reminded Savard that Vincent Lecavalier and Joe Thornton are a couple of pretty good centers as well.

"He doesn't have to play center," Savard said of Toews. "Just because how he thinks the game, how he comes to play and his leadership. I know he's only 19, but ask our guys about him. He's something else."

The 13 forwards predicted by the panel to make Team Canada in 2010 are Crosby, Lecavalier, Thornton, Staal, Dany Heatley, Jarome Iginla, Rick Nash, Ryan Getzlaf, Brendan Morrow, Mike Fisher, Mike Richards, Shane Doan and Jason Spezza.

More Forsberg: According to various reports, Peter Forsberg might need at least another week to decide if his foot is ready for him to make a return to the NHL.

The Hawks are one of the teams that have offered Forsberg a contract that he hasn't rejected. The others are Colorado, Philadelphia, Ottawa and Vancouver.

Hawks general manager Dale Tallon said he has made the 34-year-old Forsberg a significant offer.

At least one league source believes the Hawks still are on Forsberg's radar because they have offered the former MVP the best deal in terms of length past this season.

To play in the NHL this season, Forsberg would need to be signed by the Feb. 26 trade deadline.

Killing time: Most NHL teams complain about their schedules, and the Hawks are no different.

Even though Sunday marked their 13th consecutive day on the road, the game against the Canucks was just their fourth on the trip.

The Hawks fly to Columbus today and won't return home until after Thursday's game at Nashville.