On this day in 2002, Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche played in his 1,000th career NHL game. The 15th pick in the 1987 NHL Draft, Sakic spent his entire 21 season career with the Quebec Nordiques that later became the Colorado Avalanche. Sakic is remembered as a great team leader and one of the best forwards in the NHL. Sakic’s elite wrist shot made him a lethal scorer, as the rapid snap-shot release was incredibly difficult to defend. Sakic scored 50 goals and earned at least 100 points in six different seasons. Sakic led the Avalanche to win the Stanley Cup in 1996 and 2001. Sakic was named the most valuable player of the 1996 playoffs and awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy. In 2001, Sakic was named the NHL MVP in 2001 and inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012.
Today in Sports History: March 9
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