You stay classy, Colorado: Joe Sakic to retire

Joe Sakic, currently the longest-tenured captain in the NHL, is announcing his retirement today. The word most frequently used to describe Sakic was 'classy', and for good reason. Combing over his 21-year career (the entirety he spent with the Quebec/Colorado franchise, a dying breed in pro sports) you'd be hard pressed to find incidents of boisterousness or self-aggrandazing from Sakic, who preferred to let his game speak for itself. And speak it did; it spoke so loudly that I can't imagine what the man's trophy case must look like: it would have to fit two Stanley Cup rings, an Olympic gold medal, along with a Conn Smythe trophy, a Hart trophy, a Lady Byng trophy and a Pearson award (those are the playoff MVP, regular season MVP, a trophy given to the player who 'exhibits the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high level of play', and league MVP, respectively).

Probably my personal favorite memory of Sakic is from the 2001 Stanley Cup championship, when the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils with the help of Ray Bourque, a man who, like Sakic, had spent his entire career with one franchise until that season. Bourque, the longtime Bruin, had never won a Championship and left town only in that pursuit, promising to take one run with Colorado and retire the next year, whatever happened. When the Avalanche eventually did win the Cup, the commisioner handed the trophy over to the captain for his ceremonial first skate around the rink. Traditionally, the captain is the first to touch the Cup, he gets his time to skate it around, show it off, celebrate, etc. before handing it off to an alternate captain who does the same, and so on down the line. In this case, however, Sakic had no sooner touched the trophy than he handed it straight to Bourque. What a guy.

For those who remain unconvinced, check out this snappy video I found on YouTube:


Pretty boss stuff. Colorado hasn't been lighting the world on fire of late anyway, and losing Sakic is going to hurt; however, his absence frees up a lot of cap room for the team to really rebuild in earnest. A perfect ending to the career of a team-first player. The NHL will be a little less awesome without him.