Sakic return not about money

Posted by Richard Pollock in Colorado Avalanche on August 27, 2008 — 1 Comment

From Eric Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail:

At this stage of his career, if the 39-year-old Sakic were prepared test the open market, you can be pretty sure that his hometown team, the Vancouver Canucks, would have diverted that $20-million (all currency U.S.) they’d earmarked for Mats Sundin and graciously directed it toward Burnaby Joe.

But Sakic’s delay was never about squeezing every last dollar out of his employer. This is the third year in a row he’s signed a one-year deal, largely as a favour to the Avalanche. Under terms of the collective labour agreement, once a player passes the age of 35, multiyear contracts become problematic because they count fully against the salary cap, whether a player elects to play them out or not.

No, the uncertainty surrounding Sakic’s return revolved around his health and desire, not the $6-million he ultimately agreed to play for on a one-year term (31 of his peers will earn more this season).

Read the entire article here.

I think the Avalanche are going to struggle this season, but it will still be nice to get to see at least one more season of Joe Sakic. WIth the way he has played the past two seasons, there was really no reason for Sakic to hang up the skates.

Bob Roberts

Look in the dictionary under “class” and there’s Joe Sakic.
He’ll miss Andrew Brunette, though; they played very well together. An opportunity for…? Pretty hard to shine in the West but without Sakic it would’ve been much harder. How does he get along with Granato? Do I remember something between those two? I’ve never thought of Granato as having much in the way of class but obviously JS would have addressed any issue one-to-one with the owner before signing. Came down to a choice between the two during the season it would be Tony hitting the road, I’m thinking. What are your thoughts on him in retirement after this last season? He certainly has the knowledge and experience to coach, and he’d have the total respect of any player young or old; but would he be suited? I don’t know.