Joe Sakic

The Colorado Avalanche have only been around for 15 years, but have already created some pretty amazing history in the time that they have been in Denver.

Records have been set, countless awards have been won, blockbuster trades have been made and the franchise has won two Stanley Cups.

Along the road, there have been several defining and iconic moments.

Here are the top 10 iconic moments in the history of the Colorado Avalanche.

Some past and current NHL players never get any recognition. Today, I will be going through the best NHL players of all time by jersey number. Here are No. 0 to No. 49.

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Eric Lindros.

Perhaps no player infuriates Canadians and NHL fans alike than the London, ON native who once spurned not just an entire team but a province and culture as well.

June 22 marks the 19th anniversary of the dubious 1991 NHL draft that changed the face of the NHL forever. It ended so badly, that the team for which he never played ultimately got relocated to the United States.

Hence I write this article with a heavy heart in memorial.

For anyone who watched Joe Sakic's retirement press conference on July 9, 2009, they saw the humble superstar fight back tears as he spoke of leaving the game that he'd put so much of his heart and soul into over the years. He was a prime example of the one word that the 40-year-old's career has become synonymous with.

Class.

Be sure to check out trivia in my profile! You only have a few more days left to answer part one!

That's right. I, a native Detroiter, emphatically thank Joe Sakic for all he has given me.

After 20 years as one of the best players in the history of the game, today we bid farewell to the career of one of hockey's best people, an ambassador to the sport.

So this is how it feels to lose an old friend.

When Joe Sakic announces his retirement from the NHL on Thursday, hockey will lose one of the best it ever had.

Aside from one of the greatest wrist shots in league history, the game will say farewell to many things when Sakic hangs 'em up.

Class. Integrity. Leadership. Dedication. Pride. Skill.

These words don't even begin to describe the extraordinary package hockey fans were blessed enough to witness during Sakic's 20-year career.

Joseph Steven Sakic.

Some call him Joseph, some Burnaby Joe, some call him one of the best hockey players of his time and beyond.

Joe Sakic was born July 7, 1969. At the very least, he is a professional hockey player. It would only be modest to say that Sakic was one of the best players of his age and beyond.

The best of all time wouldn't be too far of a stretch, either. He won two Stanley Cups and has been voted into more NHL All-Star games than you have fingers or toes, for some of you maybe both.

That's 13 times, in case you were wondering.

The latest information to hit my desk!

We all know that Joe Sakic has announced he will be calling a press conference this Thursday afternoon to announce something.

Being that he is no spring chicken at 40 years of age, everyone is assuming he will be announcing his retirement. Well, I wouldn't count on that so soon.

According to TSN.ca, the Colorado Avalanche have scheduled a press conference for Thursday afternoon at 1pm Denver time to, in all likelihood, announce the retirement of 20-year NHL veteran and inevitable Hall-of-Famer Joe Sakic. These sort of announcements aren't usually wrong.

By all accounts, I'm a fan of the Edmonton Oilers—for those who've read my pieces thus far, I think this is pretty well-established.