"With a No. 19 in the Avalanche uniform style on the podium in front of him, and with the Pepsi Center crowd intently listening during the pregame ceremony Thursday, Joe Sakic mused that on the 2009-10 season's opening night, he was "kinda getting that itch."

He paused, and then added, "Just kidding."

A few minutes later, the 42-minute ceremony honoring the recently retired center before Colorado's matchup with the San Jose Sharks concluded with the ceremonial lifting of the huge banner with Sakic's number to the rafters, alongside those honoring former teammates Ray Bourque (77) and Patrick Roy (33).

"It was tough for me to enjoy it because I was right underneath it," Sakic said after the ceremony. "But it was special. You can never imagine that you're going to have that honor, have your number being raised up in the rafters. Not growing up, not ever. To be up there with Patrick and Ray is just a tremendous honor.""