This past winter, while sidelined due to back surgery, Joe Sakic broke three fingers in a freak snow blower accident outside his Colorado home. The injury raised some eye brows. What was a multi-millionaire athlete doing plowing his own driveway? Well, that's just Joe being Joe.
Throughout his 20 NHL seasons, Sakic remained humble and down-to-earth. He was never the most exciting player off the ice, but on the ice he displayed a unique combination of skills and smart that allowed him to compile 625 goals and 1,641 points.
On Thursday, just two days after his 40th birthday, Sakic officially announced his retirement. He isn't retiring at the top of his game. Few players do. But when healthy the past two seasons he showed himself to be an intelligent player – one who could use his experience to overcome the erosion in skill that eventually afflicts all players.
It was his health that ultimately led Sakic down the path of retirement - he played only 69 games in his final two seasons. In the end, it was the snow blower that prevented Sakic from returning from back surgery. In the most disappointing season of his career, he played just 15 games, tallying two goals and 12 points.
Sakic cannot be accused of hanging on too long. After all, just three years ago he scored 100 points for the Avalanche, and he had 87 points in each of the prior two seasons. All things considered, his downside was relatively brief – only a couple of years.
The end of Sakic's magnificent tenure in the NHL makes me think of what critics said in 1998. They opined that Sakic was on the downside of his career and that Peter Forsberg would have to assume more of the offensive responsibility in the coming years. They weren't suggesting that Sakic was washed up, but merely that his best days were behind him.
They did have a point. Sakic had just experienced the two worst offensive seasons of his career. Once a durable player, injuries plagued Sakic in the first few years after the the Avs' Stanley Cup in 1996. Because of these injuries, many wondered how much longer Sakic could be an effective player.
As it turns out, that speculation was pre-mature. Incredibly, he went on to amass 662 points after the age of 30 – mostly in the dead puck era. He led Colorado to another Stanley Cup in 2001 and the next season he was Canada's best player at the Olympics. He had two goals in four points in the gold medal game against the United States en route to being named tournament MVP.
Who in Canada will ever forget the image of Sakic breaking in alone on Mike Richter of the U.S. and beating him with him his trademark wrist shot, essentially putting the game out of reach. Canadians from coast to coast rejoiced in the knowledge that gold was close at hand. It wasn't quite like Paul Henderson's goal in the 1972 Super Series, or Mario Lemieux's in the 1987 Canada Cup, but it has a special place in Canadian hockey history.
Here in 2009, Sakic steps out of the spotlight with two Stanley Cups, a Hart Trophy, a Conn Smythe Trophy, a Pearson Trophy, a Lady Byng Trophy, a Memorial Cup, and of course an Olympic Gold Medal.
Joe Sakic accomplished it all, yet he remained a reluctant superstar. He is a paradox: ordinary and extraordinary at the very same time. He didn't seek the spotlight, but he didn't wilt when the light shone upon him. Instead he continually lifted his teammates and carried them upon his capable shoulders. For 20 seasons, he was so much more than an ordinary Joe.
Peace and Much Love To Ya :)
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