Hall of Fame for character
DENVER – The trade seemed preposterous to Maurice Filion at the time.
The Quebec Nordiques’ general manager knew he’d be vilified for parting with fan favorite Dale Hunter before the 1987 draft.
This kid, though.
Filion kept seeing images of the kid in his mind. Defenders couldn’t knock him off the puck and he had a wrist shot that completely froze goalies. Everything was telling Filion he needed to make the deal with the Washington Capitals.
So the Nordiques sent Hunter to the Capitals for the 15th pick in the draft, and Quebec selected center Joe Sakic.
Filion now laughs at his trepidation.
“We got a pretty good player, huh?” he said from his home in Quebec City.
One of the elite.
Sakic is nearing the end of his playing days. It’s been a career even he couldn’t have imagined. He’s been MVP of the league, won two Stanley Cup titles with the Colorado Avalanche, led Team Canada to an Olympic gold medal in 2002 and now is the elder statesman of a young team pushing hard for a playoff spot.
“You just hope to play,” Sakic said. “You don’t think of goals and accomplishments. I just wanted to play in the NHL.”
Sakic did more than just play – he’s 10th on the NHL career scoring list (1,541 points heading into this weekend), recently passing Paul Coffey. He’s 17th in goals scored (594) and 12th in assists (947).
His goal against Detroit on Jan. 20 allowed him to reach the 20-goal mark for the 17th time in 18 seasons. The only time he didn’t was in the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season, when he had 19 goals.
Yet the 37-year-old Sakic is showing no signs of aging. Retirement isn’t even a consideration – at least right now. He signed a one-year deal at the start of the season and will continue to do that, so he can re-evaluate his performance after every season.
Sakic holds Nordiques/Avalanche team records in virtually every offensive category. Only five players have tallied more points with one franchise – one being his boyhood idol, Wayne Gretzky.
Turns out, the Great One is also a big Sakic fan.
“There’s a few guys who are automatic Hall of Fame, and he’s obviously one of them,” Gretzky said. “I always tell younger guys, if you want to model yourself after a good center, he’s the perfect guy.”
“Wow, that’s an honor when he says something like that,” said Sakic, who not only made his 12th All-Star appearance Wednesday night as captain of the Western Conference squad but was named MVP to boot.
There’s only one thing that seems to rattle Sakic. Mention the bus accident, and Sakic glances at the floor. He still recalls that night of Dec. 30, 1986, with vivid detail.
On the way to Regina, Saskatchewan, for a game, the 17-year-old Sakic, playing for the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL, was sitting in the front of the bus when the driver skidded off the road in bad weather. The bus tumbled down an embankment. Sakic was showered in glass and climbed out through a window, but was unhurt. Four teammates died.
“A tragedy like that opens your eyes,” Sakic said.
It made him appreciate life and hockey, and how it can be taken away at any time. That’s why he works so hard on the ice.