Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, often called “The Hockey Maven,” shares his humor and perception with readers every Wednesday. This week includes a comparability between two Colorado Avalanche icons from completely different eras, Joe Sakic and Nathan MacKinnon.
It could not be a stretch to counsel that Nathan MacKinnon is a modern-day Joe Sakic. In spite of everything, every has displayed extraordinary offensive expertise. Every is a hero in Denver, and every owns Stanley Cup rings, two for Sakic and one for MacKinnon.
TNT and MSG Networks play-by-play announcer Kenny Albert studied Sakic because the begin of his NHL profession with the Quebec Nordiques in 1988-89. He is adopted MacKinnon from his rookie season (2013-14) with the Colorado Avalanche to the current.
Sakic was named Nordiques captain in 1992, a place he held till retiring from the NHL on July 9, 2009. He entered the Hockey Corridor of Fame with the Class of 2012.
“Joe was the true definition of a frontrunner,” Albert mentioned, “in addition to one of many prime gamers of his technology. After successful two championships as Avs’ captain, he grew to become solely the third individual in NHL historical past to win the Stanley Cup as a participant and common supervisor with the identical franchise.
“MacKinnon is a large motive why Sakic owns a 3rd Cup ring. Nathan’s pace and talent has thrilled Denver followers for over a decade. When he will get going via the impartial zone, look out!”
Paul Maurice, coach of the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, marveled at seeing Sakic and MacKinnon in motion.
“Sakic was a part of two of one of the best Colorado groups I ever noticed — Cup-winners in 1996 and 2001,” he mentioned. “In the event you did not get Sakic off the bench, you bought Peter Forsberg.
“Joe was extra from the Ron Francis mould, an elite participant however extra into the psychological a part of the sport; extra of a reader. MacKinnon is an unimaginable athlete, particularly the drive of his sport and his means to speed up into holes. We’re speaking about gamers with two completely different types of hockey — each elite.. There’s not plenty of comparables for these guys.”
Sakic joined the Nordiques as a 19-year-old in 1988 and had no less than 100 factors in his second and third season for groups that didn’t qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After the Nordiques relocated to Denver, he helped the Avalanche win the Cup for the primary time with a four-game sweep of the Panthers within the 1996 Stanley Cup Ultimate. Sakic and Colorado gained once more in 2001 by defeating the New Jersey Devils in seven.
MacKinnon additionally grew to become a Stanley Cup champion with the Avalanche’s six-game win in opposition to the Tampa Bay Lightning within the 2022 Ultimate. His help on Artturi Lehkonen‘s purpose 31 seconds into the third interval of a 3-0 win in opposition to the Chicago Blackhawks in Denver on March 10, 2025, made him the one hundredth participant in NHL historical past to achieve 1,000 factors and the third in Avalanche/Nordiques historical past, becoming a member of Sakic (1,641) and Peter Stastny (1,048).
“Through the years, he expects an increasing number of from our group, from our coaches, from our administration, from all people concerned as a result of he is giving it all the pieces he has,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar mentioned that night time. “And I feel that is the way you win championships. The extra guys you may have which have that outlook, the higher likelihood you are going to need to win.”
Glenn “Chico” Resch, a goalie for the Colorado Rockies (1980-82) and now a New Jersey Devils radio analyst, is intrigued by the Sakic-MacKinnon dialogue.
“Joe was intense,” Resch mentioned, “however a bit of quieter than Nathan is now. Joe had a talent that wowed you, however MacKinnon has a talent that simply overpowers folks; and he scores that manner. One other distinction is that Joe would beat groups extra together with his talent and fast, lovely shot, whereas Nathan overpowers defenders together with his energy and bodily presence.”
Sakic was the toast of Quebec Metropolis and helped the Avalanche defeat the Devils 3-1 in Recreation 7 with Forsberg, Ray Bourque, Rob Blake and Patrick Roy as teammates. As a substitute of being first as group captain to hold the Stanley Cup, Sakic let Bourque, an NHL champion for the primary time in his twenty second and remaining season, be lead hauler of the coveted trophy.
“We darn close to blew it when Jersey led us three video games to 2 going into Recreation 6 on the Devils rink,” Sakic informed me after Recreation 7, when he scored the third purpose on an influence play. “However we confirmed our stuff, successful in Jersey after which took the massive one right here at residence.”
Writing in “Gamers: The Final A-Z Information to Everybody Who Has Ever Performed within the NHL,” historian Andrew Podnieks known as Sakic, “One of many biggest gamers within the historical past of hockey, classed in essentially the most exceptional of teams that embody Orr, Gretzky, Howe, Yzerman, Messier and Lemieux.”
Sakic, at present president of hockey operations for the Avalanche, teamed with Bourque for offense. MacKinnon ceaselessly melds with Cale Makar, a two-time Norris Trophy winner (2022, ’25) voted as one of the best defenseman within the NHL, and leads the League in factors (51) and objectives (24). He scored twice in a 3-2 victory on the New York Rangers on Dec. 6, dancing via the protection to backhand the game-winner at 2:46 of additional time. Three days later, MacKinnon had two assists in his 900th NHL sport, a 4-3 shootout loss on the Nashville Predators that gave Colorado (21-2-7) some extent in 20 of its previous 21 video games (16-1-4).
“There is not any ‘chill out’ in him,” Sakic mentioned on the NHL Board of Governors assembly Monday. “It is simply, he needs to get higher each single day. Nonetheless. Despite the fact that in my thoughts he is one of the best there may be proper now, he isn’t glad.
“It is not even about factors for him. I feel on the finish of the day, when his profession is over, he’ll recognize what he achieved. However within the meantime, he does not care about that. It is about preparing for the following sport, being one of the best he may be for that sport, and that is what drives him. He is a pushed, pushed participant.”
NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika contributed to this report
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