Joe Sakic (image via NHL/Amazon Canada) Joe Sakic (image via NHL/Amazon Canada)

On Tuesday, the NHL announced a pair of documentaries coming from Prime Video in Canada, premiering in 2024.

The two films will be available stateside on ESPN+.

The first documentary is called Chosen One: Alexandre Daigle, telling the story of former #1 overall pick Alexandre Daigle’s heavily hyped career and his inability to live up to those high expectations.

Chosen One: Alexandre Daigle, chronicles how a record-setting junior hockey star – charismatic, French-speaking teenager Alexandre Daigle – was positioned to become a saviour for both the city of Ottawa and the Senators, a team that desperately needed goals and fans. With overwhelming expectations, Daigle fell short of what the team and fans had envisioned. Decades later, Daigle reflects on how he navigated the gap between people’s projections and his everyday existence to love life and hockey while living with the fans’ pronouncement of his failure.

The second doc is called Saving Sakic, focusing on the Colorado Avalanche’s efforts to match an offer from the New York Rangers for restricted free agent Joe Sakic.

Saving Sakic follows the saga of Colorado Avalanche Chairman/CEO Charlie Lyons, as he looks to secure big dollars to save his all-star captain, Joe Sakic. After an unprecedented offer from the New York Rangers to Sakic—the captain and lifeblood of Lyons’ beloved NHL franchise—Lyons has seven days to find $15 million or lose everything he’s spent years building.  Lyons has no chance to beat the ticking clock, but somehow, he finds a lifeline from an unexpected place: Hollywood.  

Both features are directed by Jay Nelson of NHL Productions.

Prime Video in Canada previously worked with the NHL on All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs, which debuted in 2021. The NHL cited that partnership when discussing the two new documentaries.

“After our collaboration on All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs, we are thrilled to work with Prime Video again,” said NHL Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer Steve Mayer. “Prime Video shares our enthusiasm for telling compelling stories and featuring the NHL’s all-time greatest characters. We think the authentic and entertaining narratives in Chosen One: Alexandre Daigle and Saving Sakic will resonate with our hockey audience but most importantly, beyond.  We can’t wait for everyone to see these two documentaries.”

Without seeing either film yet, both seem like they hit the sweet spot we look for in features. Stories that haven’t been run into the ground? Plenty of archival footage? Interviews with the relevant parties? Check, check, and check. We’re looking forward to both.

[NHL]

About Joe Lucia

I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.