Joe Sakic made his NHL debut with the Quebec Nordiques on October 6, 1988.

Born Joseph Steven Sakic on July 7, 1969 in Burnaby, British Columbia, Joe was four years old when he decided that he wanted to make hockey a career. By 1986-87, he was playing junior with the Swift Current Broncos and was named rookie of the year after a sensational freshman season that saw him score 60 goals and add 73 assists for 133 points. By the next season, scoring 78 goals and 160 points earned Joe the Western Hockey League's most valuable player award and he was named the Canadian Major Junior Player of the Year.

Sakic served as the captain of the Nordiques/Avalanche franchise for 17 seasons, making him the second longest serving captain in NHL history.

The Quebec Nordiques relocated to Denver as the Colorado Avalanche beginning with the 1995-96 season. That campaign, Sakic scored 120 points and led the newly-relocated franchise to its first Stanley Cup championship. He was named winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after notching 34 points, including six game-winning goals, in 22 games.

In 2001 Sakic won The Stanley Cup, Hart Memorial Trophy, the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (seen here) as well as the Lester B. Pearson Award.

On December 27, 1999, Joe earned an assist against St. Louis to reach 1,000 career points. In 2000-01, he again reached the 100-point mark, finishing with 118 along with a career-best 54 goals. He was awarded the Hart Trophy and the Lester B. Pearson Award as the league's most valuable player as well as the Lady Byng Trophy as the NHL's most gentlemanly player. More importantly, Sakic again led the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup championship, defeating the New Jersey Devils in the final. An indelible memory is the captain being presented with the Stanley Cup by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, then immediately handing the historic trophy to teammate Ray Bourque, who had waited 22 seasons for the opportunity to hoist the Cup.

On the international stage Sakic helped Canada capture gold at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games held in Salt Lake City, Utah.

After an injury-plagued 2002-03, Sakic finished third in scoring with 87 points in 2003-04. He had another spectacular season in 2006-07, reaching the 100-point plateau for the sixth time in his career. Earlier that season, Joe captained Team Canada's entry at the Olympic Winter Games.

Injuries continued to dog Sakic and in November 2008, after playing just 15 games, Joe was forced to conclude his season. Two days after his 40th birthday, he announced his retirement on July 9, 2009. Through 20 NHL seasons - 7 in Quebec and 13 in Colorado, Sakic scored 625 goals and 1,016 assists for 1,641 points in 1,378 regular season NHL games. He also had 84 goals and 104 assists for 188 points in 172 playoff contests.

At the time of his retirement Sakic was the Colorado Avalanche all-time franchise leader in goals, assists and points.

While his career in the National Hockey League was spectacular, Sakic's international play was equally sterling. After being drafted by the Nordiques in 1987, he helped Canada win the 1988 World Junior Championship. He was part of Canada's silver medal effort at the World Championships in 1991, and won gold at the same tournament in 1994. Canada finished second at the World Cup of Hockey in 1996, but took gold in 2004. Joe was a member of the gold medal champion Canadian team at the Olympic Winter Games in 2002.

A quiet captain, Joe Sakic let his dedication and skill speak for him, and is remembered as the humble but outstanding leader of the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise.