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Sakic was born in Burnaby, British Columbia, to Marijan and Slavica Sakic (originally Sakic, Croatian pronunciation: [Sakitc]), immigrants from Croatia in what was then Yugoslavia. Growing up in Burnaby, he did not learn to speak English well until kindergarten, having been raised with Croatian as his mother tongue. At the age of four, Sakic attended his first NHL game, a match between the Vancouver Canucks and Atlanta Flames; after watching the game, Sakic decided that he wanted to become a hockey player. As a smaller player, he was forced to use skill rather than size to excel, and modeled himself after his idol, Wayne Gretzky.

Sakic was drafted 15th overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. Rather than make the immediate jump, he told the Nordiques management he would prefer to spend the 1987-88 season in Swift Current to prepare for the NHL. He made his NHL debut on October 6, 1988, against the Hartford Whalers and registered an assist. His first NHL goal came two days later against goaltender Sean Burke of the New Jersey Devils. During the season, he wore #88 because his preferred number, #19 was already taken by a teammate, Alain Cote. While considered a front-runner for the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year due to his rapid scoring pace, an ankle injury that forced him to miss 10 games in December and the resulting scoring slump helped quash any hopes of winning the award. He would finish his rookie season with 62 points in 70 games.  In 1989-90, his second NHL season, Sakic was able to switch his number back to his familiar #19 (Alain Cote had retired over the summer), and scored 102 points, which was ninth overall in the league. At the start of the next season, 1990-91, he was named co-captain along with Steven Finn (Sakic was captain for home games, Finn for away games) and again passed the 100 point mark, improving to 109 points and sixth overall in the league, but would slip during 1991-92 to 94 points, having missed 11 games. Early on in the season, Sakic showed some of his leadership qualities, even while Mike Hough was serving as captain, as he stood firm in the Eric Lindros holdout issue. With Lindros holding out against the Nordiques, who were one of the worst teams in league, Sakic commented, "We only want players here who have the passion to play the game. I'm tired of hearing that name. He's not here and there are a lot of others in this locker room who really care about the game." Lindros was traded a year later, ending the situation and bringing in a number of quality players, which vastly improved the Nordiques. During their first four seasons with Joe Sakic, the Nordiques finished last place in the Adams Division and last in the entire league for three straight years, from 1989 to 1991.  Starting with the 1992-93 season, Sakic became the sole captain of the franchise. Under his leadership, the Nordiques made the playoffs for the first time in six years and set a franchise record for wins and points in the process (since broken by the 2000-01 Colorado Avalanche team). Sakic reached the 100-point plateau, the third time he did so in five years, by scoring 48 goals and 105 points in the regular season, and added another six points in the playoffs. In the shortened 1994-95, after the 1994-95 NHL lockout, Sakic was eight points behind Jaromir Jagr for the scoring title with a fourth-place finish, and helped the Nordiques win the division title, their first since the 1985-86 season.  Sakic had an extensive international hockey career, representing Canada at seven international competitions. After being drafted by the Nordiques in 1987, he went on and helped Canada win the 1988 World Junior Championship. His next tournament was the 1991 World Championships, where Canada won the silver medal and Sakic contributed eleven points in ten games. He tried out for the 1991 Canadian Canada Cup team, but was the first player to be cut, being cited for his weak leg strength. Sakic was bitter about the experience, feeling he was not given a good enough chance to prove himself, and called the whole experience "a complete waste of time."  Sakic's first successful professional tournament was the 1994 World Championships, where Canada won its first gold medal in the tournament since 1961. Sakic's seven points in eight games were a crucial part of the team's success. During the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, he played only a minor role in Canada's second-place finish as he scored one goal and two assists in six games. However, the tournament allowed him to showcase that he was indeed a dominant player who had simply been overlooked.  Sakic's first Olympic appearance came in 1998 at Nagano, Japan, after the event allowed NHL players to compete for the first time. Bothered by a knee injury, he only scored three points in four games, as the Canadian squad failed to meet expectations and finished in fourth. Sakic's second Olympic appearance came in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Led by his strong play, the Canadian team played their way to the gold medal match against Team USA, where Sakic had four points and helped the team win its first gold medal in 50 years. He was later named MVP of the tournament with a cumulative tally of four goals and six assists and became one of the first Canadian members of the Triple Gold Club. Sakic also played a part in Canada's triumph in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, where he scored six points in six games.  On December 21, 2005, Sakic was named captain of Team Canada for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Once again, Team Canada was heavily favored and given high expectations, but they failed to medal, finishing seventh overall. Sakic finished the tournament with three points.  After he retired, Sakic decided to take time off from hockey and spent time with his family. In 2011, two years after his retirement, Sakic returned to the Avalanche to work in their front office. He was named an executive advisor and alternate governor for the team, effective at the end of the 2010-11 season. In his role as an advisor, Sakic would advise the team in hockey-related matters, and as an alternate governor, would represent the team at Board of Governors meetings.  On June 26, 2012, Sakic was selected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 12, 2012, along with Mats Sundin, Pavel Bure and Adam Oates. Sakic was the only member of his class who won the Stanley Cup during his career.  On May 10, 2013, the Avalanche promoted Sakic to Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations. In this expanded role, Sakic has the final say on all matters regarding hockey personnel. During Patrick Roy's time as head coach, they shared most of the duties normally held by a general manager. General Manager Greg Sherman remained in his post, but served mainly in an advisory role to Roy and Sakic. This de facto arrangement was formalized the following season, when Sakic was formally named general manager and Sherman was demoted to assistant general manager.  Apart from his two years away from hockey, Sakic has spent almost three decades with the Nordiques/Avalanche organization as either a player or executive.
Joe Sakic