In the emptiness of the Pepsi Center at 8 a.m., the only sounds were the scrape of skates on ice, the clack of pucks against sticks and the rapid-fire whir of automatic camera shutters.

“I have to say I was very nervous,” Peter Forsberg admitted after taking the first tentative steps toward the most improbable comeback of the year. “There was a lot of cameras, and I didn’t want to fall down in the first practice here.”

The temptation is to roll your eyes at this grand obsession. We’ve been here before.

But think about it: What harm can it do? In the early stages of a full-scale rebuild, the Avs are going nowhere. They can’t stop anybody, as they demonstrated again Saturday afternoon, surrendering six goals to the visiting Bruins. If the newest brace on Forsberg’s troublesome right foot allows him to join the roster again, at a minimum he can accelerate the learning curve.

If it doesn’t, the Avs have lost nothing but star power. He’s not even under contract yet.

“I think the biggest thing is just his poise,” said veteran defenseman Adam Foote, Forsberg’s longtime teammate during the Avs’ golden olden days. “His confidence is going to rub off on guys. It’s going to be contagious.”

One of the most gifted hockey players in history, Forsberg’s career was cut short long before he was ready. He’s entitled to pursue a more satisfying final act. As he pointed out, fellow Swede Nik Lidstrom is having one of his most productive seasons at age 40.

This much was clear after his 45 minutes of rudimentary skating drills Saturday morning — his story has the power to make the Avs relevant again.

Through no fault of its own, the team’s young cast has had trouble staying in Denver’s sporting conversation. It’s hard to compete with the return of John Elway to the Broncos, the Rockies’ offseason megadeals and the Nuggets’ national Melodrama.

“I was really surprised because I had heard that he was done for sure. It’s pretty amazing,” said 20-year-old Matt Duchene, the Avs’ only all-star.

“Hopefully we get him back. I know he’ll give us a little bit of a boost, if not on the ice, off the ice for sure. You never know what he’s going to have after taking that much time off, but if he’s even close to the Forsberg of old, he’ll add a lot to our team.”

In the bowels of the arena, the old Foppa stories were already circulating. There he is in the corner battling two defensive behemoths when a teammate skates over to help. “What are you doing here?” Forsberg asks in the midst of the skirmish. “I got this.”

The moments of anger when he skates into the defense rather than around it, just to deliver a blow. The moments of brilliance when he draws defenders to him until he’s trapped, then sneaks the puck to a wide-open linemate. The stretches of single-mindedness when he racks up points like a pinball player.

He is among hockey’s handful of international rock stars. An able Forsberg makes the Avs instantly fashionable again.

“I was surprised. I didn’t see it coming. But I don’t think he would try it if he didn’t think there was a high percentage that he would be able to do it,” Foote said. “Apparently the work he had done in the brace, he feels mentally it’s going to be good enough for him to come back. And I think whatever percentage it is or however long it takes, it’s going to help our club.”

Once, Forsberg’s return from injury meant an automatic upgrade in the Avs’ competitiveness. After all these years, his ability and durability are both open questions. So I couldn’t help asking: Has it never occurred to him to give up the ghost?

“Oh, plenty of times,” he said. “But I don’t feel like I was done. I feel I have more to give. People say, ‘Are you crazy? Call it quits!’ But I guess I love hockey and I love playing.”

Most of Forsberg’s contemporaries from the Avs’ glory years are gone now, although he was quick to claim that Foote is three years his senior.

“Two,” Foote corrected with a grin.

We have seen all this before, most recently in 2008. Forsberg was productive when he played, but couldn’t be counted on from one game to the next. That’s why this test phase is more than a formality. The Avs don’t need an ongoing soap opera, but they could certainly use a Hall of Fame-bound veteran and tutor.

“I think this might be the last time and I hope it feels good so we don’t have to stand here again,” Forsberg said.

There was that twinkle in the eye again, the mischievous smile. Once more, with feeling.

Dave Krieger: 303-954-5297, dkrieger@denverpost.com or twitter.com/DaveKrieger