In Denver, on this fine Wednesday, the collective sigh of all the Avalanche fans sent a gust of wind that even the common folk over the 49th parallel could feel. Please use a breath mint, somebody! (Just kidding.) The Avalanche were pleased to announce that Joe Sakic would be returning for yet another season with the franchise, which will be his 20th season in the NHL and with the franchise.
The 1-year deal did not have any monetary value included in the press release, but it should be in the neighbourhood of $6 million, possibly $7 million. Last season, Sakic earned $6.75 million, so we'll use that number as reference for calculation of the team's cap number for now. Of course, once the number is divulged... you'll get a good understanding of where the team stands.Nevertheless, Sakic will make his return to the Avs line-up, which was looking a little short of leadership without his name on the page and still sans the like of Peter Forsberg as well. Sure, they have plenty of scoring talent on the team, but those youngsters need a leader, while Paul Statsny and Ryan Smyth fully adjust to the role in Colorado.
Last season, Sakic only managed to play in 44 games, registering 40 points (13G, 27A), so his fantasy value did take a bit of a hit. He missed all 38 games to a hernia, which he had to have surgery on in December. He did make a valiant return to the line-up and managed to perform admirably in the season and into the playoffs. It was the first games he had missed since the return of hockey from the lock-out.
The Hockey News has now forecasted Sakic to miss games again this season, five games, in fact, and only register 78 points. The season previous to last, he managed to nab 100 points in all 82 games, so you be the judge of his productivity. I may contend that he'll be up closer to the 90-point range again, if he can stay healthy this year.
| Forwards | Defense | Goaltenders |
| Paul Statsny | John-Michael Liles | Peter Budaj |
| Milan Hejduk | Ruslan Salei | Andrew Raycroft |
| Wojtek Wolski | Brett Clark | |
| Joe Sakic | Scott Hannan | |
| Marek Svatos | Adam Foote | |
| Ryan Smyth | Jordan Leopold | |
| Darcy Tucker | ||
| Tyler Arnason | ||
| Ben Guite | ||
| Ian Laperriere | ||
| Brian Willsie |
As for the club, with his possible $6.75 million deal, the Avalanche now have a roster of 19 players likely to crack the team at a salary cap hit of $49.8 million (approx.). The team still needs to look at one more roster defensemen and three more roster forwards before they are all set, but there are a few young names in the wings who are on the mark to crack the team. Don't forget, Peter Forsberg could make a return as well around Christmas, which would fit nicely into the Avs plans of being competitive in the tough Northwest Division.
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