For a franchise that has only been around for 30 years, the Colorado Avalanche have been blessed in many ways. Three Stanley Cup championships and a plethora of legends have worn the sweater, though a handful remain at the forefront of mind for fans past and present.
Joe Sakic has long been one of the legends for the Avalanche, the kind of player that has left an impact far and wide. But as the years have passed, current superstar Nathan MacKinnon has finally surpassed Sakic’s legendary status in Colorado with a growing legend of his own.
Joe Sakic’s Colorado Legacy
Where do you begin when talking about the impact Joe Sakic had as a player for the Avalanche? After all, if you include what he’s done since moving into the front office, his overall impact on the franchise is substantially more than what MacKinnon has done. For argument purposes, we’ll stick with what they’ve both done on the ice. It is also important to remember that this discussion does not include Sakic’s time in Quebec or that would be another argument entirely.
As the captain of the newly arrived Avalanche, Sakic was immediately a cornerstone in the city. His 120 points in 1995-96 would have been impressive enough. He followed up that regular season performance by tying the NHL’s playoff goalscoring record, winning the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP, and leading the franchise to its first Stanley Cup championship.
Over the next 13 seasons, Sakic was always a high-level scorer with flashes of dominance. He finished fifth in league scoring in 1998-99 with 96 points. He had one of the greatest seasons in Avalanche history in 2000-01, scoring 54 goals and 118 points en route to the Hart Trophy as league MVP and a second Stanley Cup title.
He even kept defying age to remain super productive, scoring 100 points as a 37-year-old during the 2006-07 season. Sakic was the model of consistency for the Avalanche in terms of production, leadership, and presence throughout his time in Denver. More importantly, he was the leader of two championship teams for a franchise that was in its infancy compared to others.
Nathan MacKinnon’s Resume and Impact
We know MacKinnon now as the superstar leading the juggernaut Avalanche to victory after victory. But there was once a time when no one really knew what the future held for first overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft.
MacKinnon started off well enough, scoring 24 goals and 63 points on his way to becoming the second member of the Avalanche to win the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie. But a trio of relatively disappointing seasons later, everyone wondered if the chosen one was the league’s next tale of disappointment.
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Beginning with the 2017-18 season, MacKinnon has shown himself to be a superstar in every sense of the word. That began a stretch of three seasons in which he scored at least 93 points and only a pair of season impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic kept him from extending that streak.
Since the 2022-23 season, MacKinnon has taken his game to another level. He led the franchise to its third Stanley Cup championship, without a doubt his most important accomplishment.
He has scored no fewer than 111 points in each of the last three seasons, topping out at a franchise-record 140 points. His efforts that season also landed him the Hart Trophy as league MVP and the Ted Lindsay Award as the MVP voted on by the players.
MacKinnon hasn’t missed a beat since. He finished with 116 points in 2024-25 and is already on a torrid pace for 2025-26. He has the Avalanche at the top of the standings and is currently on pace for 66 goals and 140 points, leading the league in both categories to date. At 30 years old, MacKinnon should still have several high-level seasons left and could very well have multiple championships still on deck as well.
Why MacKinnon is Better
The margin here isn’t massive and an argument certainly could be made for Sakic. After all, Sakic didn’t begin the Denver portion of his career until he was 26 years old, whereas MacKinnon has been there since age 18. Different circumstances and situations, not to mention the fact that the league has changed exponentially since then.
The case for MacKinnon is relatively simple. Both have played nearly the same number of games (870 for Sakic, 902 and counting for MacKinnon). MacKinnon leads in goals (393-391), assists (677-624), and points (1,070-1,015) in an Avalanche uniform. Both have three 100-point seasons, though MacKinnon is well on his way to claiming the edge in that category with his performance so far this season.
Their accolades are also virtually identical. Both have a Hart Trophy. Both have a Pearson/Lindsay. Both have a Lady Byng. MacKinnon won the Calder Trophy and has the slight edge when it comes to first-team All-NHL honors, leading 4-3. The only real edge Sakic has is that he won two Cups to MacKinnon’s one and won the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP doing so.
For now, MacKinnon has the very slight edge. If he continues on his incredible pace and leads the Avalanche to another Cup, the scales will shift heavily in his favor. And, frankly, he would become the greatest to ever wear the sweater, period.
Still Adding to His Resume
At 30 years old, MacKinnon has shown no signs of slowing down. He is hyper-competitive, obsessive, and wants to make himself and everyone around him better. He wants to win more championships and emulate his idol, Sidney Crosby, in every way possible.
MacKinnon has become one of the most dominant forces in the league over the last eight seasons. If he can put together another two or three seasons like that, we will be discussing “Nate Dogg” among the all-time greats in league history, not just among Avalanche players.
