Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as "The Hockey Maven," shares his humor and insight with readers each Wednesday. This week features a comparison between two Colorado Avalanche icons from different eras, Joe Sakic and Nathan MacKinnon.
It would not be a stretch to suggest that Nathan MacKinnon is a modern-day Joe Sakic. After all, each has displayed extraordinary offensive skills. Each is a hero in Denver, and each owns Stanley Cup rings, two for Sakic and one for MacKinnon.
TNT and MSG Networks play-by-play announcer Kenny Albert studied Sakic since the start of his NHL career with the Quebec Nordiques in 1998-99. He's followed MacKinnon from his rookie season (2013-14) with the Colorado Avalanche to the present.
Sakic was named Nordiques captain in 1992, a position he held until retiring from the NHL on July 9, 2009. He entered the Hockey Hall of Fame with the Class of 2012.
"Joe was the true definition of a leader," Albert said, "as well as one of the top players of his generation. After winning two championships as Avs' captain, he became only the third person in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup as a player and general manager with the same franchise.
"MacKinnon is a huge reason why Sakic owns a third Cup ring. Nathan's speed and skill has thrilled Denver fans for over a decade. When he gets going through the neutral zone, look out!"
Paul Maurice, coach of the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, marveled at seeing Sakic and MacKinnon in action.
"Sakic was part of two of the best Colorado teams I ever saw -- Cup-winners in 1996 and 2001," he said. "If you didn't get Sakic off the bench, you got Peter Forsberg.
"Joe was more from the Ron Francis mold, an elite player but more into the mental part of the game; more of a reader. MacKinnon is an incredible athlete, especially the drive of his game and his ability to accelerate into holes. We're talking about players with two different styles of hockey -- both elite.. There's not a lot of comparables for those guys."
Sakic joined the Nordiques as a 19-year-old in 1988 and had at least 100 points in his second and third season for teams that did not qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After the Nordiques relocated to Denver, he helped the Avalanche win the Cup for the first time with a four-game sweep of the Panthers in the 1996 Stanley Cup Final. Sakic and Colorado won again in 2001 by defeating the New Jersey Devils in seven.
MacKinnon also became a Stanley Cup champion with the Avalanche's six-game win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2022 Final. His assist on Artturi Lehkonen's goal 31 seconds into the third period of a 3-0 win against the Chicago Blackhawks in Denver on March 10, 2025, made him the 100th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 points and the third in Avalanche/Nordiques history, joining Sakic (1,641) and Peter Stastny (1,048).
"Over the years, he expects more and more from our team, from our coaches, from our management, from everybody involved because he's giving it everything he has," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said that night. "And I think that's how you win championships. The more guys you have that have that outlook, the better chance you're going to have to win."
Glenn "Chico" Resch, a goalie for the Colorado Rockies (1980-82) and now a New Jersey Devils radio analyst, is intrigued by the Sakic-MacKinnon discussion.
"Joe was intense," Resch said, "but a little quieter than Nathan is now. Joe had a skill that wowed you, but MacKinnon has a skill that just overpowers people; and he scores that way. Another difference is that Joe would beat teams more with his skill and quick, beautiful shot, while Nathan overpowers defenders with his strength and physical presence."
Sakic was the toast of Quebec City and helped the Avalanche defeat the Devils 3-1 in Game 7 with Forsberg, Ray Bourque, Rob Blake and Patrick Roy as teammates. Instead of being first as team captain to carry the Stanley Cup, Sakic let Bourque, an NHL champion for the first time in his 22nd and final season, be lead hauler of the coveted trophy.
"We darn near blew it when Jersey led us three games to two going into Game 6 at the Devils rink," Sakic told me after Game 7, when he scored the third goal on a power play. "But we showed our stuff, winning in Jersey and then took the big one here at home."
Writing in "Players: The Ultimate A-Z Guide to Everyone Who Has Ever Played in the NHL," historian Andrew Podnieks called Sakic, "One of the greatest players in the history of hockey, classed in the most remarkable of groups that include Orr, Gretzky, Howe, Yzerman, Messier and Lemieux."
Sakic, today president of hockey operations for the Avalanche, teamed with Bourque for offense. MacKinnon frequently melds with Cale Makar, a two-time Norris Trophy winner (2022, '25) voted as the best defenseman in the NHL, and led the League in points (49) and goals (24) through Tuesday. He scored twice in a 3-2 victory at the New York Rangers on Dec. 6, dancing through the defense to backhand the game-winner at 2:46 of overtime.
"There's no 'relax' in him," Sakic said at the NHL Board of Governors meeting Monday. "It's just, he wants to get better every single day. Still. Even though in my mind he's the best there is right now, he's not satisfied.
"It's not even about points for him. I think at the end of the day, when his career is over, he'll appreciate what he accomplished. But in the meantime, he doesn't care about that. It's about getting ready for the next game, being the best he can be for that game, and that's what drives him. He's a driven, driven player."
NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika contributed to this report
