Joe Sakic and the Colorado Avalanche got some very bad news yesterday as their beloved captain is going to be out a very long time with a nasty hernia. Hopefully, the injury isn't so severe that it could mean the hastened end to Joe Sakic's illustrious career in the NHL. It's certainly not easy to recovery from a painful hernia, and Sakic is at that age where each passing month is a fight against father time to maintain a high level of physical ability.
"Joe's rehabilitation has not progressed as anticipated and upon further evaluation the decision has been made to perform surgery in order for him to fully recover," Avalanche team physician Andrew Parker said.
If Sakic misses the length of time prescribed, it will be the longest absence of his NHL career. Prior to the injury, which has kept him out 12 straight games, Sakic had played in 232 consecutive games.
Sakic was struggling somewhat this season putting just 22 points in 24 games (with a gross -6) and looking rather 'tired', and now we know why.
Amazingly, the Avalanche have gone 8-4-1 since their captain has been out of the lineup, as some of the other forwards have picked up the slack. Of course, this short-term trend is unlikely to continue, and the Avs could find themselves fighting for their playoff lives by the time Sakic gets back.
While I realize the Avs have some pretty good offensive depth in their lineup, Sakic is one of those rare players that makes others better. Guys like Andrew Brunette, Marek Svatos, and Ryan Smyth need Sakic to feed them the puck to be fully effective. In the long run, the loss of Sakic is likely going to create a huge ripple effect in the Western Conference and Northwest Division.
