No one seems to speak a bad word about Sakic. He's one of the good guys in the game. He's as humble as pro athletes come.

"He's not a nice guy at all,'' teammate Ian Laperriere deadpanned.

Then he smiled.

"Only kidding,'' he said. "You hear rumors about the guy. But until you're around him every day, seeing the hours he puts in, the work he does, you see how remarkable he is.''

When Sakic was called up to Quebec in 1988, Hall of Famer Peter Stastny took him under his wing. Stastny was so impressed with the kid that he went to management - after being traded the following season - and told them they needed to make Sakic the captain.

"If you needed him to do something, he did it. He always came through,'' Stastny said. "A lot of scouts are banging their heads over how they let him pass.''

Sakic is now mentoring Peter Stastny's son, Paul, who was drafted by the Avalanche in 2005.

"He's great for Paul,'' Peter said.

Hanging in Sakic's locker is a pair of shoulder pads he's had since 1989. The pads are stained with years of sweat and held together by a patchwork sewing job. They've gotten so bad he can't wear them in games anymore - he retired them to practice only last season - but can't bring himself to throw them away. They hold too many memories.

Yet he won't admit to it outright.

"I wear them because they're comfy,'' he said.

Gretzky doesn't see Sakic retiring any time soon.

"As long as he enjoys going to the rink every day, he should (play),'' Gretzky said.

There's only one thing that seems to rattle Sakic. Mention the bus accident, and Sakic glances at the floor. He still recalls that night of Dec. 30, 1986, with vivid detail.

On the way to Regina, Saskatchewan, for a game, the 17-year-old Sakic, playing for the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL, was sitting in the front of the bus when the driver skidded off the road in bad weather. The bus tumbled down an embankment. Sakic was showered in glass and climbed out through a window, but was unhurt. Four teammates died.

"A tragedy like that opens your eyes,'' Sakic said.

It made him appreciate life and hockey, and how it can be taken away at any time. That's why he works so hard on the ice.

"He brings meaning to every game,'' Avs coach Joel Quenneville said. "He's a great leader.''

Avalanche president Pierre Lacroix used to receive trade proposals for Sakic. But then the offers stopped. Not because teams lost interest in Sakic, but because they realized he wasn't for sale.

"Everyone wants a player of his caliber,'' Lacroix said. "The idea of trading him, though, never crossed our minds.''

To this day, Lacroix's favorite memory was when Sakic took the Stanley Cup from commissioner Gary Bettman after beating New Jersey in Game 7 of the 2001 finals and handing it to teammate Ray Bourque to skate it around the ice.

"Some people think I'm not too sensitive,'' Lacroix said. "But when he gave Ray the Cup, that gave me goose bumps. That's Joe. Great hockey player, even better human being.''

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