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  • Writer's pictureDavid Leboeuf

Captain Sakic must be saved


Joe Sakic of the Quebec Nordiques attempting to score against Patrick Roy of the Montreal Canadiens. Painting created by sport artist Eric Sevigny
Before becoming teammates, Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy were involved in the rivalry between the Montreal Canadiens and the Quebec Nordiques, two NHL teams.

A story worthy of an American film to save Sakic


Whoever we are, wherever we're standing right now, we can't predict the impact of any of our actions. Sometimes, we try to make a big splash, but it turns out to be a flash in the pan. Conversely, sometimes we make a gesture with no clear expectations, and that action turns out to change lives.


That's what happened when, in 1997, an entertainment company in serious financial trouble released the film “Air Force One” starring Harrison Ford. Without realizing it, it changed the course of hockey history.


This story, as implausible as it is real, is told in the documentary “Saving Sakic”, available since April 22, 2024 on the Amazon Prime platform. In 1997, between the Detroit Red Wings' two subsequent Stanley Cups, one of the greatest sagas in the history of the National Hockey League was unfolding in the shadows. The New York Rangers, Stanley Cup winners in 1994, watched helplessly as their captain, Mark Messier, departed, ironically to the Vancouver Canucks, the team they had defeated in the 1994 Stanley Cup Grand Final. The Blueshirts, as the Rangers call themselves, were left with a major hole to fill, not only in their captain, but also in a future member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.


To make up for this considerable loss, Dave Checketts, President of Madison Square Garden, and Neil Smith, General Manager of the New York Rangers, set their sights on another Captain and future member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.


Joe Sakic.


Without realizing it, the success story of the American film Air Force One gave rise to an equally compelling story, the one that kept Captain Joe Sakic with the Colorado Avalanche.


An attempted daylight robbery


The two executives based in the Big Apple, as New York City is often called, didn't pull any punches, offering a three-year, $21 million contract with a $15 million signing bonus. Even today, many players don't earn that kind of money. Now imagine these staggering figures with your 1997 eyes. It was a staggering sum. To make matters worse, it's hard to imagine when the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 1996, but back then the team wasn't rolling in dough. Far from it. By the end of 1996, the franchise freshly arrived from Quebec City in 1995 as the the Quebec Nordiques was running a $6 million deficit.


That's when a wealthy team tries to steal your franchise player.


Then the unthinkable happened.


Harrison Ford saves the American president... and Joe Sakic


At the time, the team led by: Peter Forsberg, Patrick Roy, Adam Foote and, of course, Joe Sakic belonged to the multinational company Comsat. In 1996, the company, which ceased operations in 2007, sold 80% of its assets to its entertainment subsidiary, Ascent. Ironically, however, as with Avalanche, revenues were caught on a downward slope.


A large cash inflow was absolutely essential to get back on track, if the avalanche of debt was not to sweep them away.


This led to the launch of the famous film set on the presidential airplane of the United States of America. Not only did the film prove profitable, but the profits enabled the Colorado Avalanche management to match the New York Rangers' offer to keep their prodigy: captain and soul of the team. What's more, the economic spin-offs from the hit film made it possible to build a new amphitheatre, the Pepsi Center, as the Avalanche's previous home, McNichols Arena, no longer met the needs of a National Hockey League franchise at the turn of the new millennium.


This twist of fate, worthy of an American movie script, nonetheless allowed Joe Sakic to spend his entire career with the team that drafted him in 1987. Sakic hung up his skates in 2009, but especially after two Stanley Cups, winning it again in 2001.


Over the course of his career, he scored 625 goals and 1,016 assists in 1,378 games. To this day, he leads the franchise in goals, assists and points.


All's well that ends well


It didn't take much for a cataclysm of unimaginable magnitude to shake the hockey world beyond repair, but like the: Steve Yzerman with the Detroit Red Wings, Mario Lemieux with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Jean Béliveau with the Montreal Canadiens or Rod Gilbert with the New York Rangers, he spent his entire career with the team that gave him his first chance. Following his playing career, Sakic also held the position of general manager in Colorado, where in 2013 he hired his former teammate, the equally legendary goaltender Patrick Roy, with whom he won the Stanley Cup twice, as head coach.


Now imagine if he'd signed that contract with the New York Rangers in 1997...


David Leboeuf




Thanks to this unlikely but true story, the legendary Canadian player played his entire career with the same team.


Joe Sakic of the Quebec Nordiques skating with puck. Art by Sports Artist Eric Sevigny
Sakic wore the colors of the Quebec Nordiques from the time he was drafted in 1987 until the team's move to Colorado in 1995.

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