This is a crazy story.
You read that right, it just so happens that if not for actor Harrison Ford, Joe Sakic would have become a New York Ranger during 1997's free-agent frenzy. Well, the full story is a bit more involved than that.
The story begins with the 1996-97 NHL season in which Burnaby Joe scored 74 points in 65 games--a 93-point pace per 82. The Avs lost in the Western Conference Finals in the infamous series against the Detroit Red Wings just one year after winning the 1996 Stanley Cup. By this point, Sakic was unanimously one of the very best players in the NHL and among its most revered leaders.
A restricted free agent, the New York Rangers sent Sakic a massive offer sheet--which he signed--worth $21 million over three seasons, making him hands down the highest paid player in the NHL. The next closest in actual salary that year was Chris Gratton, who made just over $10 million.
At the time, there was no NHL salary cap, so the teams with the largest purses could flex them as they saw fit, and smaller budget teams just couldn't keep up. The Avalanche were one of those small budget teams, and under normal circumstances they would have no choice but to hand Sakic over to the Rangers in exchange for a few draft picks.
Had it not been for the film, 'Air Force One,' starring Hollywood icon Harrison Ford, Colorado's history would look much different. As fate would have it, the film was produced and financed by a subsidiary of the the Avs' parent company, Ascent. The film's success enabled Colorado to match the Rangers' offer, and sign Sakic. Thus, keeping their captain, who would lead their group to another championship just four years later.
Ipso facto, Harrison Ford is the reason Joe Sakic retired a Colorado Avalanche and not a New York Ranger or whoever else.
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