Are we talking about the same Sakic who scored 100 points 3 years ago?  Seriously, what the hell are you talking about?  If the avs do not want him, i am sure another team would gladly take a man that in your own words,

cannot really afford to have Sakic hang around any longer.

Posted by Gretzky_to_Lemieux on 06/28/09 at 09:01 AM ET

I would not be surpised for Joe to say he may sit out a few months and attempt to come back after the new year.

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 06/28/09 at 09:12 AM ET

Did he actually equate Duchene and Forsberg?  Don’t put too much pressure on the kid, for goodness sakes.  Assuming, of course, that he is ready for the NHL right away (some young forwards aren’t right away, even very high draft picks).  Odds are Sakic is going to retire, but he shouldn’t be forced out because of Matt Duchene.

Sakic should retire if he has lost the desire to do all the off-ice stuff to get in playing shape (as it seems that players all love playing the game, it’s the work that goes into preparing to play the games that is much less fun and they generally get tired of first), or if he honestly assesses himself and can’t contribute at a level that satisfies him.  Not because the Avalanche drafted a fresh-faced teenager and there is no longer any need for any old fossils to remind anyone of the bad old days.

And if he does come back as more of a third-line player and mentor than an offensive force, and is paid accordingly, then no one should feel bad for him as it will be his choice, not anything he is forced into.  He wouldn’t be the first former star to stay around for more intangible reasons than tangible ones, and probably won’t be the last, either.

Posted by Baroque from Midland on 06/28/09 at 09:17 AM ET

Attention Denver Post:

Please fire this clown!

Is he serious.  Joe Sakic is an icon and a legend.  He is what that franchise is and will always be.  The first name that comes to mind when you think of the Quebec/Denver franchise is Joe Sakic.  Despite there being many great players who’ve donned the sweater(s), none has been what Joe Sakic is!

As long as he wants to lace up his skates, the #19 with the “C” on the front of it will be waiting for him in Denver!

Posted by Mac on 06/28/09 at 09:30 AM ET

Despite injuries the last couple of seasons, he was still on the point a game track. Even with potentially declining production, I see a role for Sakic in Colorado. Perhaps something similar to Modano in Dallas where I suspect Sakic would have the advantage in terms of production and importance. Of course, the salary would have to be reasonable, eg. taking a reduction from the $6M to allow the team to restructure and contend again.

Generally, some people are too eager to get rid of the veterans and the playing legends of the sport.

Posted by Moq from Denmark on 06/28/09 at 10:04 AM ET

I’m glad to hear this support for Sakic. During the heyday of the Avs-Wings hatred, Sakic always had my respect as a great leader and a great player––one of the best wrist shots ever.

When he took 91 in the Olympics so that Stevie Y could have 19 and the ‘C’, I had a new level of respect for the guy.

Posted by Osrt on 06/28/09 at 11:42 AM ET

I hate when these wanna-be-athlete reporters start telling REAL athletes it time to retire. [How about you retire Mr. Kiszla. Newspapers are losing tons of money nowadays and your punctuation ain’t what it used to be. Besides all your good columns are a thing of the past.The paper would be better off if you retired.] You think he would listen to that advise? NOWAY! I have no problem with reporters, I just hate when they decide they know when an athete’s time is up. I’m sure some athletes hang on too long,but that’s their perogative. Who’s had the more satisfying retirement. Bobby Orr (career cut short tragically by injuries) or Chelios (who maybe hanging on a bit to long but he gets to decide when he’e finished). I’m not comparing them as players, just there own ability to decide when they want to hang ‘em up.

Posted by Linda1st on 06/28/09 at 12:37 PM ET

I hate when these wanna-be-athlete reporters start telling REAL athletes it time to retire. [How about you retire Mr. Kiszla. Newspapers are losing tons of money nowadays and your punctuation ain’t what it used to be. Besides all your good columns are a thing of the past.The paper would be better off if you retired.] You think he would listen to that advise? NOWAY! I have no problem with reporters, I just hate when they decide they know when an athete’s time is up. I’m sure some athletes hang on too long,but that’s their perogative. Who’s had the more satisfying retirement. Bobby Orr (career cut short tragically by injuries) or Chelios (who maybe hanging on a bit to long but he gets to decide when he’e finished). I’m not comparing them as players, just there own ability to decide when they want to hang ‘em up.

Posted by Linda1st on 06/28/09 at 01:37 PM ET

It sounds like the same thing bothers you that bothers me - the desire on the part of reporters (and more than a few fans) to have the career of a player follow a recognizable plot and a neat story arc, regardless of what the athlete himself wants.  They don’t arrange their lives according to the script that others would like to see, but according to their own wishes and desires in their lives at the time.

Not only wanting athletes to retire when someone else is tired of covering them, but other athletes (the Williams sisters come to mind off the top of my head) draw ire for not focusing as much as someone else would like them to do instead of having wide interests.  I heard some tennis commentator really ripping both women to pieces for taking time off to pursue other interests, and she just dismissed out of hand the comments of another commentator that maybe the frequent breaks kept them interested and from burning out at a relatively young age like so many other tennis players.  I wanted to reach through the radio and smack the woman for thinking that the Williams sisters were somehow obligated to play tennis according to the schedule that she wanted them to follow, not the one they wanted to follow themselves.

Even if an older player has to be eased out before he really thinks he is ready, there are ways of doing it with decorum instead of kicking him to the curb.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 06/28/09 at 12:46 PM ET

Baroque,You’re 100 % correct. Thanx

Posted by Lindas1st on 06/28/09 at 01:41 PM ET

I thought Adrian Dater was in charge of writing inane hockey articles for the Denver Post.

Posted by Djoos on 06/28/09 at 02:40 PM ET

Instead of trying to say, “Joe Sakic should retire…,” he should’ve suggested that Sakic take a good look at the team and should understand that a severe pay cut can land the team really good players in the upcoming free agent season.  I can’t fathom paying him another $6 million/year in the downside of his career and one that included a freak accident with a snowblower.  Yzerman was making $1.5 million in his last year with the Wings just so Holland can field a team for a deep run in the playoffs.  If Sakic is any bit the team player that everyone believes him to be, he’d leave some money on the table for Sherman.

Posted by SYF from a "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" on 06/28/09 at 08:49 PM ET