Pace on Earth: Diamond Joe

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Diamond Joe

As I write this the Colorado Avalanche are holding a press conference to announce the retirement of Joe Sakic. Burnaby Joe's career is marked by success, longevity, and class. He played 20 years in the league, all with the same franchise, the Nordiques/Avalanche. He was named co-captain in his 3rd year and assumed the full leadership role 2 years later. He became on the longest serving captains in NHL history. He also won 2 Stanley Cups, 1 Hart trophy, and quietly (as was his way) became the 8th leading scorer in the history of the league. All in all an incredible NHL career. Frankly though, all of that pales in (personal) comparison to the crowning jewel of Sakic's career.

At the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, Joe was rightly named the tournament's MVP after a great performance throughout, and a masterful 4 point performance in the Gold Medal game. That game became one of the few 'where were you when' moments for a generation of Canadians. I was at the Oak Bay rugby club on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Victoria. When the game was over crowds poured into the streets, which were empty moments before, to revel in the victory. My Moosehead shirt still has a black marker stain from where I slipped while signing a flag that a bar was putting up as a keepsake of that day. The only other moments that come close to that feeling of pride were Donovan Bailey's victory over the field (and Ben Johnson's tainted legacy) in Atlanta in 1996, and cousin Jane's incredible 4th place finish in Beijing last year. For this Joe will be far from any regular Joe in my eyes, and far from just a great NHL player. He is a Canadian Olympic hero, a humble and graceful sportsman, and one of my favourite hockey players of all time.