DENVER -- As the Quebec Nordiques slogged through the worst
season in franchise history, captain Peter Stastny assured teen-age
protege Joe Sakic that the future would be Zamboni-smooth.
Stastny, a six-time All-Star and Hall of Fame forward, proved to
be quite prophetic.
After spending two seasons under Stastny's tutelage, Sakic
assumed the role of team captain and quietly built a reputation as
one of the NHL's most lethal scorers. He will play in his ninth
All-Star Game on Sunday.
"We had some tough times, but I knew. I predicted for him there
would be good times," Stastny said Friday. "I always would put
anything on him and nothing against him. Don't bet against him
because I know what he can do."
With 29 goals and 43 assists, Sakic leads the league in scoring
at the All-Star break and will have a chance to visit with his
longtime friend Stastny this weekend.
Stastny, who led Quebec in scoring in seven of his 10 seasons
with the Nordiques, is one of 40 former players participating in
the Heroes of Hockey Game on Saturday. The last time he played a
game in Denver was 1982 when the Colorado Rockies were a hockey
team, not a baseball franchise.
"I played here as a young excited puppy," he said. "I just
remember it was extremely hot. The ice wasn't exactly the best
quality. I missed my only penalty shot I had. I still blame it on
the piles of snow and the cracks and everything, but I enjoyed
it."
The Rockies became the New Jersey Devils after the 1981-82
season, and Denver went without an NHL team until the Nordiques
were sold to Ascent Entertainment Group in 1995.
Sakic and his teammates changed cities and uniforms and quickly
adapted to their new surroundings, winning the Stanley Cup in their
first season as the Colorado Avalanche.
Colorado's success brought mixed emotions for Stastny, and his
feelings were shared by a city more than 1,000 miles to the north.
Six years before the move, Quebec won just 12 games.
"I could personally feel the pain of the people of Quebec,"
Stastny said. "They just went through the roughest year in the
history of the franchise, and all of a sudden when everything was
turning into gold, they lost it. The pain doesn't go away
quickly."
Avalanche fans are hoping another chapter in franchise history
doesn't end when Sakic becomes a free agent next summer.
Sakic and the team could not agree on a long-term contract
before the season started, but his value to NHL-leading Colorado is
undeniable.
"I just hope he gets whatever he wishes," Stastny said. "I
hope he'll stay here because I know he's happy. He's tied to this
franchise, and now to this city with the Stanley Cup."
Regardless of where Sakic ends up next year, he will forever be
one of the most prolific players in Quebec-Colorado history.
His 905 games, 700 assists and 1,132 points are franchise
records, and Sakic's 432 goals are second only to Michel Goulet
(456), who is Colorado's vice president of player personnel.
Nothing that Stastny -- now a scout for the St. Louis Blues --
didn't see coming.
"The more I learned about him, the more fascinated I was," he
said. "He's genuinely a nice guy, generous person, very friendly.
That just improves what he has, all his skills. He was one of the
few guys that was born for this game of hockey."
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ALSO SEE
2001 NHL All-Star Game coverage
Frei: Proof that Denver is a hockey town
Visiting Quebec five years after Nordiques
Is Quebec a 'minor' city?
Hartley's paid the price for NHL ride
Bourque: Still a bright All-Star
AUDIO VIDEO
 Paul Kariya sets up Joe Sakic and fires a shot over the shoulder of Roman Cechmanek.
avi: 1752 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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