Thursday, August 28, 2008
Sakic Signs for Another Season
by Jes
Could you imagine the Colorado Crapalanche without Joe Sakic? He's been the face of the Quebec/Colorado franchise since I was a wee little lad, and not having him on the team would be like not having rain in Vancouver during an August morning.
The 39-year old veteran hummed and hawed for awhile, and then decided to come back for one more season of Canuck killing, his 20th in the NHL.
Last season was really quite strange as it was the first time that I can remember that Sakic looked less than immortal. As a Canucks/Blues fan, seeing Joe Sakic with the puck was pretty much guaranteed to induce that crap-my-pants feeling. You just knew that it would take nary a split-second before he unleashed a laser-like wrist shot that scored the Avs yet another goal.
It wasn't too long ago when Burnaby Joe was still an elite forward. Actually, it was just two seasons ago when Sakic reached 100 points and looked even better than he did before the lockout. It speaks to Sakic's skill and conditioning that he could dominate at his age.
At long last, the specters of age and injuries caught up with Sakic, and he fell to just 40 points in 44 games last season. Those who got to see a lot of Sakic on TV could see that he didn't have the same zip in his game and didn't instill the same fear as he once did. I find it amazing that Sakic even put up that much offence, given how "out of it" he looked.
Still, Sakic is one of the league's smartest offensive players, and still adds a lot to the Avs in terms of productivity and leadership. In today's NHL, a point-a-game pace is damn valuable. Even as a mere mortal brought low, Sakic is better than most players in the game.
So, enjoy Sakic while you can, because the face of the Avs, and of the game's best ever, will be skating off into the sunset before long.
Could you imagine the Colorado Crapalanche without Joe Sakic? He's been the face of the Quebec/Colorado franchise since I was a wee little lad, and not having him on the team would be like not having rain in Vancouver during an August morning.
The 39-year old veteran hummed and hawed for awhile, and then decided to come back for one more season of Canuck killing, his 20th in the NHL.
Patience paid off for the Colorado Avalanche, who signed Joe Sakic to a one-year, US$6-million contract Wednesday after he decided to play a 20th NHL season rather than call it a career.
"Ultimately it came down to the fact that I still enjoy playing and competing," the 39-year-old captain said in a statement released by the team. "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."
Last season was really quite strange as it was the first time that I can remember that Sakic looked less than immortal. As a Canucks/Blues fan, seeing Joe Sakic with the puck was pretty much guaranteed to induce that crap-my-pants feeling. You just knew that it would take nary a split-second before he unleashed a laser-like wrist shot that scored the Avs yet another goal.
It wasn't too long ago when Burnaby Joe was still an elite forward. Actually, it was just two seasons ago when Sakic reached 100 points and looked even better than he did before the lockout. It speaks to Sakic's skill and conditioning that he could dominate at his age.
At long last, the specters of age and injuries caught up with Sakic, and he fell to just 40 points in 44 games last season. Those who got to see a lot of Sakic on TV could see that he didn't have the same zip in his game and didn't instill the same fear as he once did. I find it amazing that Sakic even put up that much offence, given how "out of it" he looked.
Still, Sakic is one of the league's smartest offensive players, and still adds a lot to the Avs in terms of productivity and leadership. In today's NHL, a point-a-game pace is damn valuable. Even as a mere mortal brought low, Sakic is better than most players in the game.
So, enjoy Sakic while you can, because the face of the Avs, and of the game's best ever, will be skating off into the sunset before long.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Brave New World
by Greg
I actually got out to a hockey game when I was back home in Colorado for the holidays -- no small feat these days. Unfortunately, I was sick, riding the Robitussin express and popping so many pills that Hunter S. Thompson would have blanched, so my observations were limited to these:
1) Wow, the Kings suck
2) Wow, the Kings beat the Avalanche
3) Thank God, they don't have some dolt dancing to "Cotton-Eyed Joe" during TV timeouts any more (now it's Herbie Hancocks' "Rockit")
4) Wow, hot brunette in a Czech national team jersey
Other than that, I was just vaguely blissed out, watching the Avalanche lose to one of the NHL's bottom-feeders, a trend that's continued since.
Oh, and -- Joe Sakic was out, possibly the first Avalanche game I've ever attended in person without ol' Joe. A preview, probably sooner rather than later, of what Avs-fandom will be like soon.
Back in 2006, when the retirement of Steve Yzerman was met with a level of mourning usually seen after the death of one of the more popular popes, I vowed I wouldn't react that way when the time came for Joe to stroll.
I'll still hold to that, but it's gonna be kind of ugly. One of the things I noticed was the lack of a "center" for the Avalanche -- not the position center, but more of a spiritual center (I'm not totally off the Robitussin). There wasn't anyone that you could look to in times of crisis, and feel reassured.
Ryan Smyth? Close -- he was the most noticeable Avalanche, making heads-up plays, getting opportunities (none of which bore fruit, alas). Milan Hejduk? Still exciting, but always more of a complementary player than a centerpiece. Paul Stastny? A Denver Post columnist proclaimed the team Stastny's after this game -- with curious timing, since his game wasn't spectacular. At this point, strong as his first years have been, he doesn't seem to fit the bill either.
The Avalanche will continue to contend without Sakic -- they've got good hockey minds up top, and these days, it doesn't take much to rebound (and doesn't take much to contend). But for 12+ years now, they've had one player constantly there to give them an identity, and for the first time the other night, I got a glimpse of what that'll be like going forward.
Addendum: oh, fantastic.
I actually got out to a hockey game when I was back home in Colorado for the holidays -- no small feat these days. Unfortunately, I was sick, riding the Robitussin express and popping so many pills that Hunter S. Thompson would have blanched, so my observations were limited to these:
1) Wow, the Kings suck
2) Wow, the Kings beat the Avalanche
3) Thank God, they don't have some dolt dancing to "Cotton-Eyed Joe" during TV timeouts any more (now it's Herbie Hancocks' "Rockit")
4) Wow, hot brunette in a Czech national team jersey
Other than that, I was just vaguely blissed out, watching the Avalanche lose to one of the NHL's bottom-feeders, a trend that's continued since.
Oh, and -- Joe Sakic was out, possibly the first Avalanche game I've ever attended in person without ol' Joe. A preview, probably sooner rather than later, of what Avs-fandom will be like soon.
Back in 2006, when the retirement of Steve Yzerman was met with a level of mourning usually seen after the death of one of the more popular popes, I vowed I wouldn't react that way when the time came for Joe to stroll.
I'll still hold to that, but it's gonna be kind of ugly. One of the things I noticed was the lack of a "center" for the Avalanche -- not the position center, but more of a spiritual center (I'm not totally off the Robitussin). There wasn't anyone that you could look to in times of crisis, and feel reassured.
Ryan Smyth? Close -- he was the most noticeable Avalanche, making heads-up plays, getting opportunities (none of which bore fruit, alas). Milan Hejduk? Still exciting, but always more of a complementary player than a centerpiece. Paul Stastny? A Denver Post columnist proclaimed the team Stastny's after this game -- with curious timing, since his game wasn't spectacular. At this point, strong as his first years have been, he doesn't seem to fit the bill either.
The Avalanche will continue to contend without Sakic -- they've got good hockey minds up top, and these days, it doesn't take much to rebound (and doesn't take much to contend). But for 12+ years now, they've had one player constantly there to give them an identity, and for the first time the other night, I got a glimpse of what that'll be like going forward.
Addendum: oh, fantastic.
Labels: avalanche, joe sakic, robitussin
