You're right, but different times.  When Sakic was a player, there was no Salary cap. It made Pierre Lacroix look like a genius GM when really it was all the blank checks that Stan Kronke signed that allowed the Avs to keep all that talent together. When did the Avs start to suck? When the NHL had a lockout and implemented a Salary cap.  Once that happened you saw what kind of "genius" Pierre Lacroix became. Suddenly he had a roster full of superstars and not enough money to pay them all with the new cap. The team slowly fell apart and conveniently Lacroix retires so that his "genius" reputation as a GM stayed in tact.  Since then the Avs haven't found a good GM who knows how to manage the cap well and keep good young talent in Colorado, or good coaches for that matter.  Remember that time when coach Q parted ways with the Avs and he went on to win several Stanley Cups with another team full of young talent? The front office sucks and Sakic is part of the problem.