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Colorado Avalanche captain and Canadian international Joe Sakic has retired from the NHL after a glittering 20-season career.

The triple Olympian and double Stanley Cup winner celebrated his 40th birthday on Tuesday.

"After having the privilege of playing for 20 years, I'm leaving the game of hockey with nothing but great memories and a sense of accomplishment," Sakic said.

"The game has given me more than I ever dreamed of, and for that I am truly grateful."

Sakic was team captain for 16 consecutive seasons with Colorado and 17 overall, making him the second-longest serving captain of all time in the league.

He played a staggering 1,378 games for the franchise and retires as the NHL's eighth most prolific scorer with 1,641 career points.

His bulging trophy cabinet includes Colorado's first Hart Trophy as the league's Most Valuable Player in 2001, the Conn Smythe Trophy as play-off MVP in 1996, the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship in 2001 and Olympic gold in 2002.

Sakic was a 13-times All-Star and represented his country at the Olympics in 1998, 2002 and 2006. He led the Avalanche to Stanley Cup titles in 1996 and 2001.

Renowned for his lethal wrist shot, he scored 30 or more goals in a franchise-record nine different seasons and surpassed the 20-goal mark in 17 of his 20 campaigns.

"We celebrate the brilliant career of our captain, the face of our franchise for the past two decades," Avalanche president Pierre Lacroix said.

"Joe's contributions have been invaluable and his achievements speak for themselves.

"I find myself very much like a hockey fan, filled with a tremendous sense of satisfaction which comes from having had the opportunity to know him as a person, to have watched him play and simply appreciate him as a complete professional."

Reuters