Joe Sakic to Retire

by Casey Richey on Jul 7, 2009 4:17 PM CDT in News

First off, I know he was the captain of the much hated Avalanche. But there still is something to be said for a guy of such great class and skill. You'd be hard pressed to find a player in the league that didn't have respect for Sakic and deservedly so. Sakic was the Quebec/Colorado franchise's Yzerman so it would be hard for me to sit here and ridicule a guy that played the game so similar to Yzerman.

The official announcement is expected at a press conference on Tuesday but the early report can be found here.

I tip my hat to Joe for a great career in the NHL. A career that spanned 20 years and 1,641 points, good enough for 8th all time. I can certainly see why he stepped away from the game at this point of his career and I hope that he makes the smart decision of staying retired. Weird to read a pro-Avs player bit on here huh?

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I just read and commented this on Mirtle's site

Joe Sakic is one of the greatest to ever play the game. As much as I hate the Avs, I’m gonna miss seeing Mr. Sakic play. He’s a class act and a true leader on and off the ice

by JazzyBBP on Jul 7, 2009 4:37 PM CDT reply actions

A Good Day

Sakic will no longer hurt the Wings and Pronger is locked up long-term in the Eastern Conference

by westspec on Jul 7, 2009 6:12 PM CDT reply actions

Truly a class act. The league will miss him. Godspeed, Super Joe. Number 19 gonna be retired? obvious.

by Whoabot on Jul 7, 2009 6:47 PM CDT reply actions

Bitter Sweet

I know exactly how you feel….it’s like the NHL won’t be same without Sakic leading the Avs against our Wings. Any chance he can be coaxed out of retirement and into a red jersey with a winged wheel on it for one last chance at glory at maybe $2 Mil for one year?

by Karimses on Jul 7, 2009 7:06 PM CDT reply actions

Well...

Does this mean the official end of the Wings and Avs rivalry? It seems like everyone from the Avs are gone.

by ZWC11 on Jul 7, 2009 10:38 PM CDT reply actions

seemingly it does

i mean i know Avs fans still hate the Red Wings with a passion but for me, there’s not much reason to hate the Avs anymore

Winging It In Motown

by Casey Richey on Jul 8, 2009 7:48 AM CDT up reply actions

Joe is a classy guy

I remember back in the 90s when the Avs-Wings hatred was at its strongest. Sakic and Stevie Y (who both wore #19) were selected to the same team – I can’t remember for sure if it was an All-Star game or the Olympics, but Sakic, out of respect for the Captain gave up his “claim” for the number so that Yzerman could wear it. That shows the class of Joe Sakic. He will be missed, he is the type of player that makes hockey what hockey is.

by RodneyA on Jul 8, 2009 7:58 AM CDT reply actions