Early this morning (or late last night), Adrian Dater posted a quick piece about Joe Sakic's increasingly-delayed decision on whether or not to play next season. Apparently, he won't be announcing anything before free agency begins next week.
According to Dater:
Sakic "definitely will not decide by July 1," Avalanche vice president Jean Martineau said Monday night. That is the date when NHL players can become free agents. The Avalanche is maintaining public support for Sakic, but his indecision could hamstring the team and take it out as a possible player in the free-agent market. I'm also going to maintain public support for Sakic, but mostly because I'm a shameless apologist for him. Not that there's been much to apologize for, but if the guy threw a puppy off a cliff, I'd probably come up with an explanation of how it helps the Avalanche. I won't even try to deny that. Sure, it's probably a pain in the ass to have to wait for him, but I have a feeling the money situation is not going to cause a problem down the road. I have no doubt that, if he plays, Sakic will take a pay cut next season. And I have a feeling the Avs know that already. GM Francois Giguere is not going to be hamstrung* by Super Joe---at least not to a significant extent. Besides, the Avs have a lot of room to work as far as contracts go. The salary cap is rising and a few players won't be back. Sakic's delay won't be the end of the Avalanche. Take your time, Joe. But if you pull a Scott Niedermayer, I might have to stop kissing your ass all the time. Well, at least not as hard. * I always thought the use of the word "hamstring" as a verb was weird. The hamstring is a major muscle in the back of the thigh, a noun, but the verb form of the word is actually short for "cut the hamstring," an injury that quickly makes a person immobile. Oh, English.