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Joseph “Joe” Steven Sakic, hockey player, NHL executive (born 7 July 1969 in Burnaby, BC). A fast, play-making centre with a lethal wrist shot, Joe Sakic played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Québec Nordiques and the Colorado Avalanche. “Burnaby Joe” was known for his leadership, intensity and clutch goal scoring. A first-round draft pick who was the Canadian Major Junior Player of the Year, Sakic went on to score 625 goals and had 1016 assists for 1641 points in 1378 regular season NHL games. He won the Hart Trophy, Conn Smythe Trophy and Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. He also won two Stanley Cups as a player and one as an executive, as well as gold medals for Canada at the 1988 World Junior Hockey Championship, the 1994 World Hockey Championship, the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. He has been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Early Life and Family
Joe Sakic is the middle child of Slavica and Marijan Sakic. Joe has an older sister, Rosemarie, and a younger brother, Brian. Rosemarie was a figure skater who competed in singles at the 1985 Skate Canada International. Brian also played hockey in the Western Hockey League. He was drafted by the Washington Capitals and played professionally in the ECHL, WPHL, UHL, and CoHL.
Slavica and Marijan were Croatian immigrants who settled in the Vancouver suburb of Burnaby. Joe only spoke Croatian as a toddler and learned English for the first time while attending kindergarten. Once in school, Joe picked up the language very quickly.
Marijan worked as both a commercial fisherman and carpenter. He worked extremely hard to provide for his family and instilled a strong work ethic in his children. Marijan loved hockey when he first came to Canada and regularly watched Hockey Night in Canada. When Joe was four years old, Marijan took him to see the Vancouver Canucks for the first time at the Pacific Coliseum. Joe loved the atmosphere and got hooked on hockey.
Marijan built a rink in the family backyard and bought a family membership to the North Shore Winter Club in North Vancouver, so his children could learn to skate. Marijan also took Joe power skating, and Joe first played hockey at age six.
Joe’s idol growing up was Wayne Gretzky. He was extremely impressed with Gretzky’s skill and precision, and with the way Gretzky was able to adapt well and create opportunities for himself when he was not the biggest player.
Joe played street hockey regularly and played ice hockey in the Burnaby Minor Hockey Association. While attending Burnaby North Secondary School at the age of 16, Joe played for the Burnaby Hawks U18 AAA Selects. He had 83 goals and 73 assists for 156 points in 80 games.
Western Hockey League (1986–88)
As a teenager, Joe Sakic played for the Lethbridge Broncos and Swift Current Broncos in the Western Hockey League. (See Canadian Junior Hockey.) In 139 WHL games across two seasons (1986–88), Sakic had 138 goals and 155 assists for 293 points. In 1987–88, he was the Canadian Major Junior Player of the Year.
Sakic is a survivor of the tragic Swift Current Broncos bus accident on 30 December 1986. The team bus hit black ice and crashed, claiming the lives of four of Sakic’s teammates. He has spoken over the years about the deep impact the tragedy has had on him. Known for his quiet intensity and stoic reserve, Sakic said, “The crash made me more careful and cautious about how I do things.” It also deepened his ties to the community of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, where his wife, Debbie, is from and where they regularly spend their summers.
Quebec Nordiques (1988–95)
Joe Sakic was selected in the first round, 15th overall, by the Québec Nordiques in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. Starting in 1988–89, he spent seven seasons with the Nordiques before the franchise moved to Denver. Sakic was an All-Star five times with the Nordiques (1990 to 1994) and scored more than 100 points three times.
Colorado Avalanche (1995–2009)
In 1995–96 — the first season of the Colorado Avalanche after they relocated from Quebec City to Denver — Sakic had a prolific year. He had 51 goals and career highs in both assists (69) and points (120). He also led the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup title as Colorado swept the Florida Panthers in four games. Sakic won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. He led the NHL postseason in goals (18), points (34), even-strength goals (12), power-play goals (six), game-winning goals (six) and shots on goal (98).
Sakic’s next remarkable season with the Avalanche came in 2000–01. In a storybook season, Sakic led the NHL in plus/minus (+45) and game-winning goals (12) and scored a career-high 54 goals. He also won the Hart Trophy (regular season MVP), Lester B. Pearson Award (best player in the NHL as voted by the players), and Lady Byng Trophy (most sportsmanlike player). Then, in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Sakic led the Avalanche to a second Stanley Cup title as Colorado beat the New Jersey Devils in seven games. Sakic led all players in the 2001 playoffs in goals (13), points (26), power play goals (five), and game-winning goals (three).
NHL Accomplishments
As of September 2025, Joe Sakic ranked 16th all-time in NHL goals (tied with Jarome Iginla and Sidney Crosby), 14th in assists (1016), and 10th in points (1641). Recognized for his clutch scoring, he is the NHL all-time leader in playoff overtime goals with eight. Sakic represented the Avalanche in seven All-Star Games (1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2007), and was a first-team NHL All-Star at centre three times (2001, 2002, and 2004).
Known for his leadership, Sakic captained the Nordiques/Avalanche from 1990–91 and again from 1992–2009. In Nordiques/Avalanche franchise history, he is the all-time leader in games (1378), goals (625), assists (1016), points (1641), even strength goals (388), power-play goals (205), shorthanded goals (32), game-winning goals (86) and shots on goal (4621).
In 2017, the NHL named Sakic one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players.
Team Canada
Joe Sakic won a gold medal for Team Canada at the 1988 World Junior Hockey Championship in Moscow, the 1994 World Hockey Championship in Milan, the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. At the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, Sakic was named the tournament MVP.
Avalanche Executive (2014–Present)
Joe Sakic was the general manager of the Colorado Avalanche from 2014 to 2022. In that time, the Avalanche won the 2022 Stanley Cup and Sakic won the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award. Since 2022, Sakic has been the Avalanche’s president of Hockey Operations.
Personal Life
Joe Sakic and his wife, Debbie, have three children: Mitchell, and twins Chase and Kamryn.
Sakic is an avid golfer and started a charity golf tournament to raise funds for the Food Bank of the Rockies. It has been estimated that the charity work done by Sakic and his wife has provided more than seven million meals to poor children and families. He received the NHL Foundation Player Award for outstanding community service in 2007.
Honours
Joe Sakic was inducted into the Burnaby Hall of Fame in 2001, the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 2010, the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2010, the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012 and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. His number 19 was retired by the Avalanche in 2009. A street in Burnaby was named Joe Sakic Way in his honour.
