Does Joe Sakic Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Joe Sakic was one of the great centers of his era, dominating during a hard time to score and then scoring consistently for a very long time. The question isn’t whether he belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but where he ranks among the greatest centres of all time.

Listen to us discuss Joe Sakic here:

Joe Sakic’s Career

• NHL: 1988-2009; 20 seasons, 19 quality
• Totals:
  • 625G (15th All Time),
  • 1016A (13th) for
  • 1641P (9th),
  • +30 in
  • 1378 games;
  • 21:39 ATOI (since 1998-99);
  • 167.8 PS (22nd)
  • Sakic is 7th All Time in Offensive Point Shares
• Per Game:
  • 15th All Time in APG and
  • 11th in PPG
• In his draft class (1987), Sakic, drafted 15th overall, is
  • 4th in Games but
  • 2nd in Goals,
  • 1st in Assists and Points,
  • 12th in Plus Minus
• Era: Of the 19 skaters to play in 1250 or more games between 1988 and 2009, Sakic is
  • 3rd in Goals and Point Shares
  • 2nd in GPG, APG, PPG and OPS
  • 1st in Assists and Points
  • 14th in Plus/Minus
• 82-game average: 37G, 61A for 98P, +2
• 3-year peak (1990-93): 80-game average of 43G, 65A for 109P, -7
• Playoffs:
  • 84G (7th All Time),
  • 104A (21st) for
  • 188P (8th),
  • -2 in
  • 172 games;
  • 22:30 ATOI
  • Per Game:
    • 21st All Time in playoff GPG and
    • 14th in playoff PPG
  • Era: Of the 20 skaters to play in 164 playoff Games between 1988 and 2009, Sakic is
    • 2nd in playoff Goals
    • 2nd in playoff GPG
    • 3rd in playoff Assists
    • 60th in playoff APG
    • 1st in playoff Points
    • 1st in playoff PPG
    • 18th (3rd last) in playoff Plus/Minus
• Adjusted:
  • Hockey-Reference:
    • 643G (14th All Time),
    • 1036A (9th) for
    • 1679P (6th)
    • Adjusted 82-game average: 38G, 62A for 100P
    • Sakic is 13th All Time in Adjusted APG and 17th in Adjusted PPG
      • If the qualifier is raised to 820 games (10 seasons), Sakic is 22nd in GPG, 7th in APG and 9th in PPG
        • If the qualifier is raised to 1230 GP (15 seasons), Sakic is 7th in GPG, and 3rd in APG and PPG
  • VsX:
    • 628G (22nd All Time)
    • 1,092A (13th All Time)
    • 1,534P (9th All Time)
    • (Each VsX calculation is separate so they do not add up and we cannot calculate an 82-game average)
    • Surprisingly, Sakic doesn’t quality for any Per Game leader-boards but if we raise the qualifier to 820 games, Sakic is 16th All Time in APG and 15th All Time in PPG
      • If the qualifier is raised to 1230 games, Sakic is 10th in GPG, 7th in APG and 5th in PPG
• Never traded.

Joe Sakic’s Accomplishments

• Hart (’01),
• Ted Lindsay (’01)
• Lady Byng (’01)
• Conn Smythe (’96)
• Top 5 in Selke voting once
• Back Check MVP (’01)
• Top Player:
  • Best Player (by PS) once (’01),
  • Top 10 twice (’96)
  • Best Offensive Player (by OPS) once (’01),
  • Top 5 three times (’91, ’96),
  • Top 10 seven times (’95, ’99, ’04, ’07)
• Goals:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Goals twice,
    • Top 10 five times
  • GPG leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in GPG twice,
    • Top 10 four times
  • Single-season totals:
    • 50 goals twice,
    • 45 goals four times,
    • 40 goals five times,
    • 35 goals seven times,
    • 30 goals nine times,
    • 25 goals fifteen times (1 of only 11 players ever),
    • 20 goals seventeen times (1 of only 14 players)
• Assists:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Assists six times,
    • Top 10 nine times
  • APG leader-boards:
    • Led the league in APG once,
    • Top 5 three times,
    • Top 10 nine times
  • Single-season totals:
    • 60 assists seven times (1 of only 15 players ever),
    • 50 assists fourteen times (1 of only 5 players),
    • 40 assists fifteen times (1 of only 13 players)
• Points:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Points six times,
    • Top 10 times
  • PPG leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in PPG five times,
    • Top 10 nine times
  • Single-season totals:
    • 120 points once,
    • 110 points twice,
    • 100 points six times (1 of only 14 players ever),
    • 90 points nine times (1 of only 8 players),
    • 80 points twelve times (1 of only 6 players),
    • 70 points fourteen times (1 of only 8 players),
    • 60 points seventeen times (1 of only 7 players),
    • 50 points eighteen times (1 of only 9 players)
• Led the league in Plus Minus once, Top 5 twice
• All Star:
  • 1st Team All Star three times
  • 12 All Star Games
  • Monthly:
    • Rookie of the Month once
  • Weekly:
    • Weekly 2nd Star twice
    • Weekly 3rd Star once
• VsX:
  • Best 7 seasons:
    • Goals: 39th All Time
    • Assists: 29th All Time
    • Points: 18th All Time
  • Best 10 seasons:
    • Goals: 32nd All Time
    • Assists: 24th All Time
    • Points: 15th All Time
• Playoffs:
  • Joe Sakic led 10 playoff series in points, which is tied for second all time behind only Gretzky and he finished Top 3 in points in playoff series 16 times, which is tied 9th all time
  • Leading 33% of his career playoff series in points puts him tied for 6th most ever; he also was Top 3 in points in 53% of his playoff series

Joe Sakic’s Great Teams

• NHL:
  • MVP (led playoffs in points) on one Champion (’96 Avalanche),
  • Best Player (led playoffs in assists) on one Final Four (’97 Avalanche),
  • Best Forward (led playoffs in goals and points) on one Champion (’01 Avalanche),
  • Top 3 Forward on three Final Fours (’99, ’00, ’02 Avalanche)
• Olympics:
  • Top 6? Forward (by points) on one Olympic Champion (’02 Canada)
• World Cup:
  • Top 3 Forward (by points) on one World Cup Champion (’04 Canada),
  • Top 6 Forward (by points) on one World Cup Runner Up (’96 Canada)
• World Championships:
  • Best Forward (by points) on one World Champion Runner Up (’91 Canada),
  • Top 6? Forward (by points) on one World Champion (’94 Canada)
• WJCs:
  • Top 6? Forward (by points) on one World Junior Champion (’88 Canada).