 Injuries would again limit Sakic 's playing time in the 1997 – 98 season . While playing in his first Olympics with Team Canada , Sakic hurt his knee and was forced to miss 18 games with the Avalanche . In the 64 games he did play in , he still scored 63 points , enough to earn him his seventh All @-@ Star appearance . He finally rebounded from his injury problems in the 1998 – 99 season , finishing fifth in the league in scoring with 41 goals and 96 points in only 73 games . He led the Avalanche all the way to within one game of the Stanley Cup Finals , where they lost to the eventual champion Dallas Stars . After the season ended , Sakic was ranked number 94 on The Hockey News ' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players . 
