What a drag. Avalanche captain Joe Sakic now knows what it’s like to be a 39-year-old man stuck on the couch, nursing a bad back, unable to go out and play.
Super Joe has been reduced to Joe Sixpack.
“It’s frustrating, because I didn’t get hurt playing hockey,” Sakic said after skating Wednesday, only to decide it would be prudent to sit out again tonight against Calgary and miss his fifth full game because of the first back injury of his 19-year NHL career.
So let’s dispense with the obvious question: After contemplating retirement for months, did Sakic, who also missed a frustrating 38 games to injury a year ago, make the wrong choice to return for this pain, watching helplessly as the Avs languish in last place?
“No, no regrets at all,” Sakic replied, without a second of hesitation. “I’m glad to be back. And we’ll turn it around as a team, I’m very confident of that.”
With his body dropping hints he cannot play hockey forever, the Avs have again been forced to examine a future without Super Joe.
And it’s not always a pretty sight.
“I watch on TV,” said Sakic, who hurt his back in the weight room. “I can’t stay away. But it is better when you’re there live. It’s tough to get the vibe from the building when you’re on the couch 1,000 miles away.”
As much as the Avs have missed the deadly wrist shot and beautiful playmaking of Sakic, teammates might be more at a loss from the absence of his quiet confidence and no-panic leadership inside a locker room that has recently experienced more wild reversals in fortune than a stomach-in-the-throat, roller-coaster ride.
“We’re a skating team,” Sakic said. “When we get caught not playing well is when we’re standing around and waiting for things to happen, rather than moving our feet and using our speed.”
As the season approaches the quarter pole, it’s too soon for fates to be set in stone, but not too early to start chiseling trends. So maybe it’s time to silence the most common shriek heard by panicky Avalanche fans as the team stumbled from the starting gate.
Goalie Peter Budaj is definitely not the cause of all evil that comes Colorado’s way. While nobody sees him as a Vezina Trophy candidate, can we halt the preparations to barbecue him as a scapegoat?
Truth be known, this team has a way bigger problem than Budaj’s five hole.
The Avalanche is demanding too much from its few stars, most notably Paul Stastny, while coach Tony Granato is also asking too much from an overabundance of muckers and grinders, whose grit is exemplified by Ian Laperriere’s ruggedly crooked nose.
“You can’t go just point to one guy and say, ‘You be Joe Sakic until he gets back.’ It’s impossible,” Laperriere said. “There has only been one Joe Sakic who has played this game, and there will never be another one, in terms of leadership and the player he is on the ice.”
Laperriere brings an infectious enthusiasm for the task at hand, no matter how dirty the job. But he does not have the star power to replace the respect earned by Sakic.
The Avalanche recently rewarded Stastny with a five-year, $33 million contract extension, and his precocious talent richly deserved the pay raise. But a Brinks truck stacked with cash cannot magically transform a quiet 22-year-old center into the unquestioned leader of grown men with kids and mortgages.
“If Paulie started chirping every night in the room, guys would look at him like, ‘Hey, maybe you better cut down on the caffeine.’ You can’t fake the way you lead,” Laperriere said. “Younger players can’t take over leadership of the room too fast. But they can take over little by little.”
The transition is on. The Avs are moving from being Sakic’s team to Stastny’s team. The shift in power, however, is not an excuse for the team’s unremarkable 8-9-0 record.
As much as it hurts to admit, the Avalanche is in danger of losing relevance before the Broncos get done playing football and many folks in Colorado flip their calendars ahead to hockey season.
Sakic is stuck on the couch.
But it’s the Avs who have been caught napping in the basement of the Northwest Division.
Get well soon, Joe.
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
