Is Joe Sakic Done?

It's been a rough season for Joe Sakic and the Colorado Avalanche. While the team has struggled to lottery status, Sakic has only played 15 games and been beset by injuries.

Complicating matters is the fact that there has been retirement talk surrounding Sakic this year. With speculation rampant about Sakic's future, he gathered the media Wednesday morning to give an update on his health.

The veteran says he's still trying to get on the ice before the season ends for the Avalanche April 12, but it doesn't sound like it's going to happen. Sakic says he's struggling to recover from back surgery. The fingers he hurt in his snowblower accident have healed and are not a factor in his current health issues.

Because he's trying so hard to make it back this season, even though the Avalanche are long gone from the playoff race, there is much speculation he plans to retire this summer. Sakic says one does not equal the other.

"I'm a hockey player, and you want to play," he said. "You play for pride, and you play when you're healthy to play. I'll decide the future in the summer. I'll need to take a couple months or a month or whatever it will be to decide. The big thing is to get the leg strength back as close to 100 percent as possible and then decide after that."

There is also talk Sakic wants to play for Team Canada in the 2010 Olympics. The Games are being held in his hometown of Vancouver. However, it's unlikely he'd be a serious candidate for the Canadian team, especially if he's not on an NHL roster during the season.

Is he done? There's a good chance he is. Sakic will be 40 in July. He has suffered some pretty serious health issues this season, and his older body is not going to bounce back from these kinds of injuries like a younger player could.

A lot of it could depend on a couple exterior factors. For starters, what direction is the Colorado franchise moving? They already have more than $43 million committed to 17 players next season. Is this going towards a full rebuild of the organization, or can they find a way to contend for a playoff spot next year? Also, would Hockey Canada consider Sakic for a spot on the 2010 team?

If the Avalanche have no use for a 40-year-old player in a rebuilding effort, and Sakic has little or no chance of making the Olympic team, he may decide to hang it up.