As part of the Avalanche’s “shirt off their backs” giveaway following its final game of the season Sunday, team captain Joe Sakic came on the ice in street clothes to take part.
To a thunderous ovation, Sakic parted with a No. 19 jersey to a young raffle-winning fan and waved to the crowd. Former Avs teammate Peter Forsberg was one of the faces in the crowd. If this was the final time Sakic would take to the Pepsi Center ice as an active member of the Avs, Forsberg wasn’t going to miss it.
“He was one of the classiest guys you’d ever want to meet,” Forsberg said. “He helped me out from the first day I ever got to the NHL, and it was a pleasure to play with him. I hope he continues to play, but we’ll see what happens.”
Sakic, who missed all but 15 games of the season with back and finger injuries, declined to talk to the media after the game. He said he’ll decide whether to return for a 21st season if he recovers in satisfactory fashion from the back surgery he had in January.
Of his own future, the 35-year-old Forsberg said: “It doesn’t look too good” about any of his potential playing prospects.
“It hasn’t looked too good for the last five years now,” he said. “I just wanted to come see Joe and some of the other guys I know here, obviously.”
Forsberg said maybe the most cherished memory he has of Sakic, among many, was the night he handed off the Stanley Cup to Ray Bourque in 2001.
“That’s just how he is. He’s not selfish at all, and he is just a winner,” Forsberg said.
Footnotes.
The Avs were successful on only three of their last 35 power plays and ended the season at 15.8 percent, ranking 25th in the league. The Avs finished 28th overall last season, at 14.6 percent. . . . The one-goal game was Colorado’s 42nd of the season and tied the team record for most in a season, matching 2006-07.
Adrian Dater, The Denver Post
