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DENVER -- When Joe Sakic told the Colorado Avalanche he was retiring after his 20th season in the NHL, it meant the last great player from the Nordiques was hanging up his skates.
The Quebec City team acquired Sakic as a first-round draft pick in 1987. It turned out to be a tough day for fans since it also meant the loss of Dale Hunter to Washington.
"I knew the Nordiques were trading the heart and soul of the team to pick me," Sakic said yesterday during an interview at a Denver hotel ahead of the Avalanche retiring his No. 19 jersey tomorrow night.
"I had had interviews with a few teams, including Winnipeg, Quebec and Toronto. At 17, I just wanted to hear my name. I was having an exciting day."
The idea of moving from the West Coast to a French-speaking province didn't faze the young player.
"I left Vancouver to play junior hockey in Swift Current in the hard Saskatchewan winters. I remember cheering on the Nordiques on TV during their games against the Canadiens. I liked the blue jersey and players like Stastny and Michel Goulet," he said.
But even though he performed well at his first training camp in the fall of 1987, Sakic asked to go back to Swift Current.
"I only had one season in the junior leagues. I knew that I had to play a lot to continue developing and get some muscle strength," he remembered. "It was an excellent decision. We all dream of starting in the NHL really young. Starting is one thing, lasting is another one completely."
With a bit more experience under his belt, Sakic got his NHL start in the 1988-1989 season. He was due to spend three miserable years as the Nordiques floundered near the bottom of the rankings.
"It was hard to go through, but I was starting my career and being in the NHL was exciting," Sakic explained. "At some point, the losses became too much to take. I remember the encouragement from Goulet. He would tell me to not worry too much, to play and have a good time. That eventually, the team would start winning again and I'd be part of that. Guy Lafleur would repeat that to me. I decided to play with all my skill and to have fun."
Going into his fourth season, Sakic said he felt his team was headed in the right direction, culminating in the acquisition of Eric Lindros.
"All of a sudden, in 1992-1993, we went from being one of the worst teams to a more than respectable one," he said. "I had my best season in Quebec City. We started believing in ourselves. It was exciting."
Sakic and his mates finally got a taste of playoffs, but fell to the eventual Cup champion Habs in the first round.
"We didn't know how to win in the playoffs," Sakic said. "We lacked maturity. We probably thought victory was in the bag since we won our three games in Montreal during the season."
The 1993-1994 season turned out to be a big disappointment after the thrill of the playoffs. That disastrous season led to Pierre Lacroix becoming head coach.
"Pierre inherited a good, young team. He made a few trades and changed the mindset. We had an interesting season, a half-season really, since it was cut short by the first lockout."
One year later, the Nordiques were a thing of the past and the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup.
ALBERT LADOUCEUR IS A COLUMNIST FOR QMI AGENCY