What About Sakic?
First off, I know - thinking of Joe Sakic in any uniform other than that of the Colorado Avalanche (and team Canada, of course) is almost heresy.
Second of all, I want to point out that this post is pure speculation - I have absolutely zero evidence that Colorado has been dangling Sakic or taking calls for him.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about Joe Sakic and the Colorado Avalanche.
The Avs currently sit in 10th place in the Western Conference, 8 points behind the Minnesota Wild. Though the playoffs are far from being out of reach, it will take a huge surge to get there and frankly, it doesn’t look all that likely. With the trade deadline only a few weeks away, Francois Giguere and the Avs are in an unusual situation, and need to make a decision on which of their impending free agents they should move. The biggest name they could - and I would argue should - make available is Joe Sakic.
Sakic is a natural leader, an experienced performer in the regular season and the playoffs, and would be a huge boost to any team in the league. He has been among the best players in the NHL for over a decade, can play in any situation, and is among the classiest people the league has known in recent memory.
Now, why would the Avalanche ever consider moving such a player? Sakic’s impending status as an UFA is one reason; his age is another. Sakic can arguably only decline from here on out (though he’s definitely not done yet). His trade value would be huge!
To put things in perspective, the reported asking price for Peter Forsberg is 2 first round draft picks and a roster player (admittedly most GM’s have apparently balked at that price). Forsberg has not played a full season in over 10 years. If he’s traded and stays healthy through a single playoff round many will be surprised. Sakic, on the other hand, has played 81 or more games in 4 of the past 5 seasons.
Francois Giguere should also look back in his own franchise’s recent history to see why trading Sakic would be a good idea. In recent years, the Avs have watched Patrick Roy, Adam Foote, Rob Blake, Teemu Selanne, Paul Kariya and more leave the team with nothing coming back in return. While the Avalanche have several promising young players, a couple top level picks or prospects could have a huge impact kick-jumping the re-building/loading phase.
Finally, Sakic is an impending free agent and could be re-signed as early as July 1st. While it’s always heart-warming to see a franchise player stay his entire career in the city that drafts him, emotions need to be put aside in this sort of situation. Sakic will do more for the Avalanche by playing for someone else for a few months and returning to a team bolstered by several picks or prospects so the team can look to the future as soon as possible.
If Colorado hasn’t been considering offers for their captain, they should be. And teams sniffing around the Forsberg sweepstakes would be foolish to not at least give Francois Giguere a call before the trade deadline arrives. Sakic is worth at least as much as Forsberg and is much less of a gamble.