Joseph Steve Sakic (IPA: /ˈsɑːkɨk/

Early life

NHL career
Sakic was drafted 15th overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. Rather than make the immediate jump, he told the Nordiques management he would prefer to spend the 1987-88 season in Swift Current to prepare for the NHL. During the first four seasons with Joe Sakic, the Nordiques always finished last place in the Northeast Division and last in the entire league three straight years, from 1989 to 1991.
Starting with the 1992-93 NHL season, Sakic became the sole captain of the franchise. Under his leadership, the Nordiques made the playoffs for the first time in six years, and set a franchise record for wins and points in the process. Sakic scored 105 points in the regular season and six points in the playoffs. He managed to reach the 100 point plateau again in 1993-94 with forty-eight goals and 105 points, but the Nordiques failed to make the playoffs. After missing part of the 1994-95 season due to a lockout, Sakic had the best finish of his career as he finished fourth in overall points, and helped the Nordiques win the division title.

Quebec Nordiques
In June of 1995, the Quebec Nordiques announced that they had been sold and were leaving Quebec. At the start of the 1995-96 NHL season, the franchise moved to Denver, Colorado and was renamed the Colorado Avalanche. Sakic led the team to its first Stanley Cup championship, scoring 120 points in 82 regular season games and 34 points in 22 playoff games. He was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the 1996 NHL playoffs. During the run for the cup, Sakic again proved himself to be an effective team leader. Although he had missed the playoffs in five of his first seven years in the NHL, and lacked any postseason experience, he scored eighteen goals, including six game-winners, and thirty-four points. He was one goal off from the record for goals in a playoff year, and his game-winning goals established a new record.

Colorado Avalanche
Sakic has been voted into the NHL All-Star Game thirteen times and has played in twelve of them and was captain for two of them, most recently in 2007. He has at least one point in eleven of them.

All-Star Games
Sakic has had an extensive international hockey career, having represented Canada at seven international competitions. After being drafted by the Nordiques in 1987, he went on and helped Canada win the 1988 World Junior Championship. as the Canadian squad failed to meet expectations and finished in fourth. Sakic's second Olympic appearance came in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Led by his strong play, the Canadian team dominated all the way to the gold medal match against Team USA, where Sakic had four points and helped the team win its first gold medal in 50 years. He was later named MVP of the tournament with a cumulative tally of four goals and six assists. Sakic also played a part in Canada's triumph in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, where he scored six points in six games.
On December 21, 2005, Sakic was named captain of Team Canada for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Once again, Team Canada was heavily favored and given high expectations, but they failed to medal, finishing seventh overall. Sakic finished the tournament with three points.

International play
Sakic and his wife Debbie have three children: Mitchell and twins Chase and Kamryn.

Personal life

Career statistics

Legacy
Sakic recorded his 1000th career point on December 27, 1999 against the St. Louis Blues,

Milestones
In his 18-year career with the Nordiques and Avalanche, Sakic has obtained nearly all of the franchise scoring records, including most all-time goals (610), assists (979), and points (1579). He also holds the franchise record for most games played (1319) and most minutes played,