Joe Sakic to stay with Colorado

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Sakic returning to Avs on one-year deal

Associated Press

DENVER -- Avalanche captain Joe Sakic said Tuesday he has signed a one-year deal that will have him back in Denver next season -- and he's hoping for more.

Sakic, who has played all 17 seasons with the Avalanche franchise, turns 37 next month. He said he thought a one-year contract extension was fair to both sides, though he hopes to play at least two more seasons. Terms were not disclosed.

"If you're over 35, for whatever reason, if you sign a two-year deal -- and after one year you decided to retire, not that I'm going to, the team's still stuck with the cap number," Sakic said. "At this stage of my career, I thought one year deals would probably be best for both sides."

Sakic ranks 11th on the NHL's all-time list in points (1,489), 15th in assists (915) and 17th in goals (574). He has more overtime playoff goals (7) than anyone else.

Only Steve Yzerman has a longer tenure with the same team (22 seasons) and only five other players have tallied more points with one organization (Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Gordie Howe, Ray Bourque and Yzerman). Colorado has won two Stanley Cup championships with Sakic as captain.

"This organization's success has been due in large part to Joe Sakic, both as a leader and as a premiere player in this league," general manager Francois Giguere said. "Keeping him in an Avalanche uniform was definitely a priority."

Sakic said he'd like to keep his production level high.

"I'm confident I've got at least two more years, maybe three," he said. "I'll tell you the last couple years, I haven't taken that much time off. I took a couple weeks off and then get back at it. I'm scared of losing anything so you want to make sure, after the year you get your little bit of rest, but then you get right back at it to try and maintain that level."