 In 1989 – 90 , his second NHL season , Sakic was able to switch his number back to his familiar # 19 ( Alain Côté had retired over the summer ) , and scored 102 points , which was ninth overall in the league . At the start of the next season , 1990 – 91 , he was named co @-@ captain along with Steven Finn ( Sakic was captain for home games , Finn for away games ) and again passed the 100 point mark , improving to 109 points and sixth overall in the league , but would slip during 1991 – 92 to 94 points , partly as a result of missing 11 games . Early on in the season , Sakic showed some of his leadership qualities , even while Mike Hough was serving as captain , as he stood firm in the Eric Lindros holdout issue . With Lindros holding out against the Nordiques , who were one of the worst teams in league , Sakic commented , " We only want players here who have the passion to play the game . I 'm tired of hearing that name . He 's not here and there are a lot of others in this locker room who really care about the game . " Lindros was traded a year later , ending the situation and bringing in a number of quality players , which vastly improved the Nordiques . During their first four seasons with Joe Sakic , the Nordiques finished last place in the Adams Division and last in the entire league for three straight years , from 1989 to 1991 . 
