Sakic returns to Avs

by James Mirtle on Aug 27, 2008 2:21 PM CDT Comment 9 comments

"I am happy to announce the signing of Joe Sakic to a one-year contract," said Avalanche Executive Vice President and General Manager Francois Giguere. "Our entire organization is very excited to have Joe back for another season. As the only captain of the Avalanche, his record of achievement speaks for itself. Having him return is great for our franchise and community, but also for the game of hockey."

"Ultimately it came down to the fact that I still enjoy playing and competing," said Sakic. "I’m comfortable with my conditioning and my overall health. I’m ready for the start of camp and am looking forward to the upcoming season."
>> team release

Not a huge surprise, although Sakic did battle some pretty awful injury problems last season. I haven't seen any terms on the deal, but it's likely in the same range as the $6.75-million he made last season.

Sakic turned 39 last month but has remained an incredibly productive player in his late 30s. Postlockout, he has 81 goals and 227 points in 208 games, and is ranked 17th in points per game over that period (ahead of the likes of Briere, Gaborik, Sundin, Jokinen, Staal, St. Louis).

He's also the NHL's active points leader, nearly 250 ahead of second place Mark Recchi, and will pass Mario Lemieux into seventh place all time with another 94 points. Sakic's also 12th in career points per game (1.20).

The release indicates there will be a press conference on Tuesday.

UPDATE Eric Duhatschek says it's a one-year, $6-million deal.

Postlockout points per game

Rk	Player	Tm	GP	G	A	PTS	PTS/G
1	Sidney Crosby	PIT	213	99	195	294	1.38
2	Joe Thornton	2Tm	245	80	255	335	1.37
3	Jason Spezza	OTT	211	87	182	269	1.27
4	Alex Ovechkin	WSH	245	163	147	310	1.27
5	Daniel Alfredsson	OTT	224	112	167	279	1.25
6	Dany Heatley	OTT	235	141	149	290	1.23
7	Evgeni Malkin	PIT	160	80	111	191	1.19
8	Jaromir Jagr	NYR	246	109	181	290	1.18
9	Pavel Datsyuk	DET	236	86	185	271	1.15
10	Peter Forsberg	3Tm	126	33	111	144	1.14
11	Marc Savard	2Tm	238	65	206	271	1.14
12	Henrik Zetterberg	DET	215	115	130	245	1.14
13	Vincent Lecavalier	TBL	243	127	148	275	1.13
14	Jarome Iginla	CGY	234	124	135	259	1.11
15	Teemu Selanne	ANA	188	100	107	207	1.1
16	Marian Hossa	2Tm	234	111	147	258	1.1
17	Joe Sakic	COL	208	81	146	227	1.09
18	Ilya Kovalchuk	ATL	239	146	115	261	1.09
19	Daniel Briere	2Tm	208	88	137	225	1.08
20	Marian Gaborik	MIN	190	110	96	206	1.08

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Good for Joe if he feels he can compete. For the sake of his legacy I hope that his intuition is correct.

by Derek from Cloud9 Sports on Aug 27, 2008 2:34 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Without Sakic, the Avs might have contended for the 1st overall draft pick next summer. Not that they could have gotten away with sending him on his way, but I doubt they'll make much competitive noise even with him in the lineup. For Colorado fans that have to live with this team for the long term, this may not be an entirely happy day.

by The Forechecker on Aug 27, 2008 2:54 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't think Joe Sakic has to worry about his legacy. Neither does Chris Chelios.

But it looks pretty bleak for Avs with derianhatcheresque speed of Smyth, Foote and Hannan.

Avs could sign their original draft pick Anson Carter to wheel with these guys.

Is Jason Allison still holding out somewhere?

Brad Marsh, anyone?

by Anonymous on Aug 27, 2008 5:28 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Joe Sakic makes his decision late August and everything is ok.

Mats Sundin's decision has been in the headlines since June.

Former teammates from Nordiques, both captains, Olympic champions... but only one of them is good ol' boy from Canada. Eh?

by Anonymous on Aug 28, 2008 8:40 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Only one year? Is he really going to be able to shut it down before the Olympics in his hometown?

by Sean on Aug 28, 2008 8:47 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

There was far less interest in Sakic because he was either going to return to Colorado or retire, unlike Sundin who... who knows what he's going to do.

Allison is still only 33, I thought he could be a good league minimum 2-way contract guy last year, but now I dunno.

by Nick on Aug 28, 2008 10:42 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Sean - many fans would love to see Sakic play in the Olympics one last time, but I'll bet Joe would only want to play if he could be a real contributor, and not just a sentimental pick. The team in Torino suffered from a shortage of young legs, so there will be definitely be some pressure on Canada to skew the roster a bit younger for 2010. We'll have to see how Sakic holds up this year injury wise before we can really talk about 2010. If he is healthy, he can definitely contribute, but the injury bug definitely bites older players harder.

by Dennis Prouse on Aug 28, 2008 11:04 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I think this is a terrible move by Joe, and my opinion is not at all influenced by how he absolutely KILLS the Flames. Nope... not at all.....

by Keith on Aug 28, 2008 2:21 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

"Former teammates from Nordiques, both captains, Olympic champions... but only one of them is good ol' boy from Canada. Eh?"

People have been talking about Sundin because he's from Toronto and he was offered the biggest contract in the league. Thats a little different than Burnaby Joe taking the home town discount in market that has the Broncos about to start their season.

by Derek from Cloud9 Sports on Aug 28, 2008 4:09 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs