Joe Sakic

Position	Centre
Shoots	Left
Nickname(s)	Burnaby Joe, Super Joe, Mr. Clutch [1][2]
Height Weight	ft  in ( m) 195 lb (89 kg)
NHL Team	Colorado Avalanche Quebec Nordiques
Nationality	Canada
Born	July 7 1969 (1969--) (age 38), Burnaby, BC, CAN
NHL Draft	15th overall, 1987 Quebec Nordiques
Pro Career	1988 – present

Joseph Steve Sakic (IPA: /ˈsɑːkɨk/^[3]) (born July 7, 1969 in Burnaby, British Columbia) is a Canadian professional ice hockey center who has played his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise. In his 18-year tenure, Sakic has won two Stanley Cups, various NHL trophies and has been voted into 13 NHL All-Star Games. He is regarded as one of the strongest team leaders to ever play in the league,^[4] and has been able to motivate his team throughout his entire career to play at a winning level.

Over the course of his career, Sakic has been one of the most productive forwards in the game, having twice scored fifty goals and earning at least 100 points in six different seasons. As of 2007, he is the 9th all-time points leader in the NHL, as well as 14th in all-time goals and 11th in all-time assists.^[5] During the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, Sakic helped lead Team Canada to its first gold medal in fifty years, and was voted as the tournament's most valuable player. He has represented the team in six other international competitions, including the 1998 and 2006 Winter Olympics. After the 2000-01 NHL season, Sakic was named the MVP of the NHL by both hockey writers and his fellow players.^[6]

One of Sakic's most effective tools on offense is his wrist shot, which is considered by many to be the best in the NHL.^[7]

Early life

Sakic was born and raised in Burnaby to Marijan and Slavica Sakic^[8] (originally Šakić, IPA: [ˈʃakiʨ]^[9]), ethnic-Croatian immigrants from the former Yugoslavia.^[10] He did not learn to speak English until kindergarten, having been raised with Croatian as his mother-tongue. This language barrier would make him a demure, quiet individual later in life.^[10] Growing up as the child of immigrants, Sakic was instilled with a strong work-ethic, a trait which would serve him well in his hockey career.^[10] As a smaller player, he was forced to use skill, rather than size to excel, and modeled himself after his idol, Wayne Gretzky.^[11] After showing exceptional promise as a young hockey player in Burnaby, Sakic was referenced as a new Wayne Gretzky in the making.^[8] He scored eighty-three goals and 156 points in only eighty games in Burnaby, and was added to the Lethbridge Broncos of the Western Hockey League for the last part of the 1985-86 season.^[12]

In 1986-87, the Broncos relocated to Swift Current, Saskatchewan, becoming the Swift Current Broncos. Joe, playing in his first full season, was named Rookie of the Year of the WHL.^[13] He notched 60 goals and 73 assists for 133 points. But while Sakic enjoyed success on the ice, his team faced a tragedy on the night of December 30, 1986. The Broncos were driving to a game against the Regina Pats and due to bad weather conditions, the driver lost control on a patch of black ice outside of Swift Current, and the bus crashed. While Sakic was unharmed, four of his teammates (Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka and Brent Ruff) were killed. This incident had a lasting impact on the young Sakic,^[11] who has declined to talk about the crash during his career.^[14] The next year, in 1987-88, Sakic was the WHL Most Valuable Player and Canadian Major Junior Player of the Year scoring 160 points (78 goals, 82 assists).^[15][16]

NHL career

Quebec Nordiques

Sakic was drafted 15th overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. Rather than make the immediate jump, he told the Nordiques management he would prefer to spend the 1987-88 season in Swift Current to prepare for the NHL.^[12] He made his NHL debut on October 6, 1988 against the Hartford Whalers and scored an assist. His first NHL goal came two days later against goaltender Sean Burke of the New Jersey Devils.^[17] In that season, he wore the #88 because #19 which he had used since his pee wee hockey days,^[16] was already taken by teammate Alain Côté.^[18] He finished the season with 62 points in 70 games.

In 1989-90, his second NHL season, Sakic got his #19 back, earned the title of captain and scored 102 points, which was ninth overall in the league. He again passed the 100 point mark in 1990-91, improving to 109 points and sixth overall, but would slip during 1991-92 to 94 points, partly as a result of missing eleven games. Early on in the season, Sakic proved himself as a true team leader as he stood firm in the Eric Lindros holdout issue. With Lindros holding out against the Nordiques, who were one of the worst teams in league, Sakic commented, "We only want players here who have the passion to play the game. I'm tired of hearing that name. He's not here and there are a lot of others in this locker room who really care about the game."^[10] Lindros was traded a year later, ending the situation and bringing in a number of quality players, which vastly improved the Nordiques.^[19] During the first four seasons with Joe Sakic, the Nordiques always finished last place in the Northeast Division and last in the entire league three straight years, from 1989 to 1991.

Starting with the 1992-93 NHL season, Sakic became the sole captain of the franchise. Under his leadership, the Nordiques made the playoffs for the first time in six years, and set a franchise record for wins and points in the process. Sakic scored 105 points in the regular season and six points in the playoffs. He managed to reach the 100 point plateau again in 1993-94 with forty-eight goals and 105 points, but the Nordiques failed to make the playoffs. After missing part of the 1994-95 season due to a lockout, Sakic had the best finish of his career as he finished fourth in overall points, and helped the Nordiques win the division title.

Colorado Avalanche

Joe Sakic in 2006

In June of 1995, the Quebec Nordiques announced that they had been sold and were leaving Quebec. At the start of the 1995-96 NHL season, the franchise moved to Denver, Colorado and was renamed the Colorado Avalanche. Sakic led the team to its first Stanley Cup championship, scoring 120 points in 82 regular season games and 34 points in 22 playoff games. He was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the 1996 NHL playoffs. During the run for the cup, Sakic again proved himself to be an effective team leader. Although he had missed the playoffs in five of his first seven years in the NHL, and lacked any postseason experience, he scored eighteen goals, including six game-winners, and thirty-four points. He was one goal off from the record for goals in a playoff year, and his game-winning goals established a new record.^[20]

In the 1996-97 season, Sakic only played in sixty-five games due to a lacerated calf,^[4] yet still managed to score 74 points as the Avalanche earned their first President's Trophy and third straight division title.^[17] He had another great playoff season with eight goals and seventeen assists, and took the Avalanche all the way to the conference finals, where they eventually lost to the Detroit Red Wings in six games. As a free agent during the summer of 1997, Sakic signed a three year, $21 million offer with the New York Rangers as an unrestricted free agent. Under the collective bargaining agreement at the time, the Avalanche had one week to match the Rangers' offer or let go of Sakic. Colorado would match the offer,^[12] which instigated a salary raise for many NHL players.^[21]

Injuries would again limit Sakic's playing time in the 1997-98 season. While playing in his first Olympics with Team Canada, Sakic hurt his knee and was forced to miss eighteen games with the Avalanche.^[16] In the sixty-four games he did play in, he still scored sixty-three points, enough to earn him his seventh All-Star appearance.^[17] He finally rebounded from his injury problems in the 1998-99 season, finishing fifth in the league in scoring with forty-one goals and ninety-six points in only seventy-three games. He led the Avalanche all the way to within one game of the Stanley Cup finals, where they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup winning Dallas Stars. After the season ended, Sakic was ranked number 94 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.^[22]

During the 1999-00 season, Sakic reached several career milestones. Injuries limited him to only sixty games, but he still managed to lead the team in scoring with eighty-one points. On December 27, 1999, against the St. Louis Blues, Sakic earned an assist to become the fifty-sixth player in NHL history to reach 1,000 career points.^[23] Later in the season, on March 23rd, 2000, he scored a hat trick against the Phoenix Coyotes, and became the fifty-ninth player to score 400 career goals.^[23] It also gave him 1,049 points with the Quebec/Colorado franchise, passing Peter Stastny as the all-time leader on the team.^[17] Sakic eclipsed the 100 point mark again in 2000-01, finishing with 118 along with a career best fifty-four goals. He led the Avalanche to their second Stanley Cup championship, and won the Hart Memorial Trophy, the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy and the Lester B. Pearson Award. After the Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils in the 2001 finals in seven games, Sakic, received the cup first as the captain. But instead of hoisting it high, he passed it straight to Ray Bourque, a player who had waited a record-breaking twenty-two seasons to win the Stanley Cup.^[24] The 2001-02 season saw Sakic lead the Avalanche in scoring again, finishing sixth in the league with seventy-nine points. On March 9, 2002, he played in his 1,000th career game. The Avalanche once again reached the Western Conference Finals, but lost to the eventual Cup winning Detroit Red Wings. The following year Sakic appeared in only fifty-eight games, and finished with just fifty-eight points, the lowest total of his career.^[17] He rebounded the following year, finishing third in the league with eighty-seven points. It also marked the first time since the 1993-94 season that his team did not win the division title, which was won by the Vancouver Canucks.

Joe Sakic warming up before a game in 2006

Following the 2004-05 NHL lockout, the Avalanche were forced to lose many of their key players in order to stay below the salary cap.^[25] Even with the loss of teammates Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote, Sakic still helped the Avalanche get into the playoffs, where they eventually lost to the Anaheim Ducks in the conference semifinals. In June 2006, Sakic signed a one-year, $5.75 million deal to keep him with the Avalanche for the 2006-07 season.^[26] Upon the retirement of Steve Yzerman a month later, on July 3, 2006, Sakic became the league leader for most NHL career points scored among active players.

Sakic had another strong season in the 2006-07. He scored his 600th career goal on February 15, 2007, against the Calgary Flames, becoming the seventeenth player in history to reach the milestone and third that year.^[27] On the final day of the regular season, he scored his 100th point, reaching the milestone for the sixth time in his career.^[5] At the same time, Sakic became the second-oldest NHL player to score 100 points in a season at age 37, alongside hockey legend Gordie Howe. Despite his efforts as well as a late season charge, Sakic and the Avalanche missed the playoffs for the first time in eleven years, finishing one point behind the eighth placed Calgary Flames.

In April 2007, Sakic signed on for a 19th NHL season with the Colorado Avalanche, signing a one-year deal for the 2007-08 season.^[28] Sakic commented on the deal, saying "at this stage in my career, I prefer to do one-year deals as I evaluate my play year-to-year."^[28] Upon signing Sakic to the deal, Avalanche General Manager Francois Giguere said, "Joe is the heart of this organization and his leadership and value to this team and especially our young players is unquestioned."^[29] On May 1, the NHL announced that Sakic was named as one of the three finalists of the Lady Byng Trophy,^[30] but it was eventually awarded to Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings.

All-Star Games

Sakic has been voted into the NHL All-Star Game thirteen times and has played in twelve of them and was captain for two of them, most recently in 2007. He has at least one point in eleven of them.^[31] The only one that he missed entire was the 1997 All-Star game, which he missed due to an injury. Sakic won the Most Valuable Player award in the 2004 All-Star game after scoring a hat trick and leading the Western Conference to victory. He is the all-time assist leader in all-star games with 16 assists^[32] and is third place in all-time all-star scoring with 22 points, behind Mario Lemieux (23 points) and Wayne Gretzky (25 points).^[32] His best record in an All-Star game was in 2007, where he scored 4 assists, but still was not selected for MVP in favour of Daniel Brière.^[32]

International play

Medal record
Competitor for Canada
Men's Ice Hockey
Olympic Games
Gold	2002 Salt Lake City	Ice Hockey
World Championships
Gold	1994 Italy	Ice Hockey
Silver	1991 Finland	Ice Hockey
World Cup
Gold	2004 World Cup of Hockey	Ice Hockey
Silver	1996 World Cup of Hockey	Ice Hockey

Sakic has had an extensive international hockey career, having represented Canada at seven international competitions. After being drafted by the Nordiques in 1987, he went on and helped Canada win the 1988 World Junior Championship.^[12] His next tournament was the 1991 World Championships, where Canada won the silver medal and Sakic contributed eleven points in ten games.^[12] He tried out for the 1991 Canada Cup Canadian team, but was the first player to be cut, being cited for his weak leg strength.^[12]

Sakic's first successful professional tournament was the 1994 World Championships, where Canada won its first gold medal in the tournament since 1961. Sakic's seven points in eight games were a crucial part of the team's success.^[12] During the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, he played only a minor role in Canada's second place finish as he scored one goal and two assists in six games.^[33] However the tournament allowed him to showcase that he was indeed a dominant player who had simply been overlooked.^[34]

Sakic's first olympic appearance came in 1998 at Nagano, Japan after the event allowed NHL players to compete for the first time. Bothered by a knee injury, he only scored three points in four games,^[16] as the Canadian squad failed to meet expectations and finished in fourth. Sakic's second Olympic appearance came in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Led by his strong play, the Canadian team dominated all the way to the gold medal match against Team USA, where Sakic had four points and helped the team win its first gold medal in 50 years. He was later named MVP of the tournament with a cumulative tally of four goals and six assists. Sakic also played a part in Canada's triumph in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, where he scored six points in six games.

On December 21, 2005, Sakic was named captain of Team Canada for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Once again, Team Canada was heavily favored and given high expectations, but they failed to medal, finishing seventh overall. Sakic finished the tournament with three points.

Personal life

Sakic and his wife Debbie have three children: Mitchell and twins Chase and Kamryn.^[16] They met at a local high school while he was playing in Swift Current, and they frequently return to the town during the off-season.^[14] Sakic is an avid golfer, and competed in the celebrity Pro Am golf tournament in Lake Tahoe in the Summer of 2006. Each Summer, he also hosts his own charity golf tournament which benefits the Colorado Food Bank.^[16] His charity work, which is estimated to have provided more than 7 million meals to poor children and families, has earned an NHL Foundation Player Award in 2007.^[35]

In his hometown of Burnaby, Sakic is a fan favourite, and even has a street named "Joe Sakic Way" in his honour.^[11] Throughout British Columbia he is affectionately known as "Burnaby Joe;" in Colorado, he is known simply as "Super Joe."^[1] His younger brother Brian was a member of the same Swift Current Broncos during Joe's final season. He was drafted into the NHL, but did not play in the league. He did, however, play for the Flint Generals on the United Hockey League.^[16]

Career statistics

Legacy

Milestones

Joe Sakic has worn number 19 every year of his career, except for his first year in the NHL, when he wore number 88^[36]

Sakic recorded his 1000th career point on December 27, 1999 against the St. Louis Blues,^[23] and played his 1000th career game on March 9, 2002 against the Los Angeles Kings.^[6] Nine months later, on December 11, he scored his 500th career goal against the Vancouver Canucks. On March 12, 2006, he became only the 16th player in NHL history to reach 900 assists, in a game against the Calgary Flames.^[37] Seven months later, on October 25, 2006, he became just the 11th player to reach 1500 NHL points, and the 6th to do it with one franchise by recording an assist against the Washington Capitals.^[38] Only Gordie Howe (Detroit Red Wings), Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers), Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins), Raymond Bourque (Boston Bruins) and Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings) have also achieved this feat.^[11] The next year, on February 15, 2007, Sakic scored his 600th career goal against the Calgary Flames. During the final game of the season, at age 37, he became the second oldest player in NHL history, after Gordie Howe, to record 100 points in a regular season.^[39] He is the only captain in Colorado Avalanche history and became the longest active tenured captain after the retirement of Steve Yzerman following the 2005-06 regular season.^[37] Alongside Bobby Clarke, Wayne Gretzky, and Mark Messier, Sakic is one of four players to captain his team to a Stanley Cup championship and win the Hart Memorial Trophy in the same year.^[40] He is also one of 19 members in the prestigious Triple Gold Club for obtaining an Olympic Gold, a World Championship Gold and the Stanley Cup.^[41]

Records

In his 18-year career with the Nordiques and Avalanche, Sakic has obtained nearly all of the franchise scoring records, including most all-time goals (610), assists (979), and points (1579). He also holds the franchise record for most games played (1319) and most minutes played,^[6] and is on several notable NHL record lists:

Awards

• All awards taken from NHL.com^[37]

References

See also

• Quebec Nordiques
• Colorado Avalanche
• List of NHL statistical leaders
• List of NHL seasons
• List of NHL players with 1000 points
• List of NHL players
• List of NHL players with 500 goals
• List of NHL players with 600 goals

External links

• Joe Sakic's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• CBS SportsLine - Joe Sakic's statistics at CBS SportsLine.com.
• coloradoavalanche.com - Joe Sakic's profile (extensive)
• Joe Sakic's biography at Legends of Hockey

• Rocky Mountain News Joe Sakic Article, including several interviews of other players' opinions on Sakic.