Joe Sakic is a Stanley Cup champion with the Colorado Avalanche for the third time tonight (June 26) after toppling the previous back-to-back champions.
"Burnaby Joe" and the Avs hoisted Lord Stanley's mug for the first time in 21 years, defeating the Tampa Bay Lighting with a 2-1 performance in Game 6 on the road Sunday night (June 26) to clinch the final best-of-seven series, 4-2.
Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen net Colarado's two goals.
He won the cup with the NHL franchise as a player in 1996 and 2001.
This is the 52-year-old's first title as a general manager — eight years after he was named GM in 2014.
Sakic is also Colorado's executive vice president of hockey operations after assuming the role in 2013.
In 1996, Sakic was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs.
He was named the league MVP, the Hart Trophy winner, in 2001 by hockey writers and fellow players.
Sakic played 1,378 regular-season games in his career where he scored 625 goals and added 1,016 assists for 1,641 total points.
In the playoffs, the Burnaby legend played 172 games, scoring 84 goals and adding 104 assists for 188 points.
