It will be a sad day in the National Hockey League on Thursday when Joe Sakic officially announces his retirement. Sakic, 40, had an illustrious career that placed him eighth in points (1,641), 11th in assists (1,016) and 14th in goals (625).

The 13-time NHL All-Star also won two Stanley Cups in addition to capturing the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1996 and the Lady Byng Trophy and Hart Memorial Trophy in 2001. He was voted MVP of the 2002 Olympics after helping Canada win its first gold medal in 50 years. The guaranteed first ballot hall of famer had been captain of the Nordiques/Avalanche franchise since 1992.

No doubt, there will be plenty of tributes to “Burnaby Joe” over the next several days, but Mile High Hockey has already reflected on one of the many memorable moments from Sakic’s career:

My admiration was as much for the way Sakic carried himself – on and off the ice – as it was for the tremendous skill that he possessed. Not surprisingly, my favorite Joe Sakic moment was in 2001  when he held the Stanley Cup for about 19 milliseconds before handing it off to Ray Bourque. Other players might have done that, but no one could have made it look as natural as Joe Sakic did.

More great quotes and statistics can be found in the Denver Post.