Thanks for the memories, Joe.

He was my first “favorite player” sad to see him go. Thanks for the memories, indeed.

One less Nordique alum in the NHL.

Godspeed, Joe. We’ll miss you. Much like Fetch in the comment above, I had no connection to Quebec or Colorado, but Joe Sakic was probably my personal favorite player outside of my own home team’s players.

One of the all time greats. A no brainer for the Hall of Fame in 2012.

He turned 40 today. Given his injury issues the past couple of years, it was definitely time. One of the true class acts, and one of the best wrist shots any of us will ever see. Glad his junior coach didn’t ruin him.

Great player, shame to see him go.

Top 3 all-time favorite, which, considering he scored pretty much every milestone goal he ever got against my Flames, is saying a lot. Right up there with Nieuwy and (reaching to my childhood) Marcel Dionne.

Ahh…anytime I think of Sakic, I think of the Good Ol’ Days when the NYR had a free-spending GM who signed guys to expensive, head-shaking, contracts.

Wait, I mean the previous GM who did that.

Jokes aside, Sakic coming to the NYR in 1997 would have been a huge blessing for the NYR. He was a true superstar in his prime who would have easily replaced Messier. Sakic would have taken more pressure off Gretzky than his subsequent fill-in LaFontaine ever could (considering LaFontaine’s age and injury issues). Even with all the other dopey personnel moves Smith (and later Sather) made, I find it hard to believe a Sakic-led team would have missed the playoffs 7 straight years.

Just out of curiosity, would he be prohibited from playing in the Olympics if he retired?

I hate his guts for completely owning the Flames all these years!

Big loss for the league though. One of the classiest players in the league, and it is a shame he had to go out the way he did. Would have been nice if he could have gotten a couple games so that his snow blower incident wasn’t his swan song.

Guess he has three years to get his hall of fame induction speech ready.

I’m a Wings fan and I HATE the Avs, but Joe Sakic is one of my favorite players of all time. A classy player and a true team leader on and off the ice. His stats are even more amazing considering he played his entire career in the “trap” era. Mr. Sakic will be missed. Good luck to him in all his future endeavors

Its interesting to see the Red Wings fan that hate all things Avs still have respect for Burnaby Joe. If that doesnt tell you what kind of class act he is, I’m not sure what will….

Damn shame to see him go. What a player.

What a player, what a career.

Always thought #19 fit this understated star better than #88, anyway. (Man, I feel old.)

There’s so much raw talent in the NHL these days, but players with Sakic’s human intangibles are still those rare gems that every GM and hockey community wishes for.

I imagine he’ll stay with the Avs organization in some role. That number retirement ceremony will be intense.

It’s a shame his last season had to be such a disaster, as Joe truly is a class-act.

And Mirtle, I’m guessing you aren’t counting Yzerman as a British Columbian because he grew up in Ontario? As a fellow BCer, I’m surprised you don’t cheat and include him among our ranks!

Sad to see him go, he’s been playing my entire life, and I’ll miss this guy. Saw him at a Hawks game a long while back, he was getting food because he was injured.

Nice post, James. (And thanks for using a photo in the good uniform and not the unipron.)

Super Joe was the reason I started following hockey and the reason I became a Nordiques fan. He was the epitome of a quiet leader and a captain. His on-ice contributions have been and will continue to be sorely missed by the Colorado organization. His work in the Denver community will continue and he will make a great ambassador for Canada for the 2010 Olympics in his home country. I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors and I hope to see him in a meaningful position within the Avalanche organization sooner rather than later.