Sakic returns to Avs
“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.”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.
“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.”
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 |
by James Mirtle @ 3:21 PM
Trackbacks
| Permalink |
9 comments
9 Comments:
Good for Joe if he feels he can compete. For the sake of his legacy I hope that his intuition is correct.
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.
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?
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?
Only one year? Is he really going to be able to shut it down before the Olympics in his hometown?
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.
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.
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.....
"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.
Post a Comment
<< Home