The film opens with a narrated highlight package of Joe Sakic's greatness with the Colorado Avalanche.
Two minutes in, Charlie Lyons sits down in front of the camera.
"Well, that's all terrific," Lyons says as he leans forward in his chair. "Of course, it almost didn't happen."
The next 45 minutes of "Saving Sakic," an original hockey documentary from NHL Productions, dives into the story of how the former Avalanche captain and current executive almost left the team in 1997 to go to the New York Rangers, and how a confluence of events over the course of one week in August of 1997, including help from Harrison Ford, stopped it from happening.
"Saving Sakic" will is available for Prime members in Canada starting Tuesday and will be on ESPN+ for subscribers in the United States starting April 17.
The film is directed by Jay Nelson with executive producers Steve Mayer, Ross Bernard and Craig Axelrod for NHL Productions and Gary Cohen for Triple Threat TV.
It features commentary from Lyons, the former Avalanche chairman and CEO who was blindsided by the Rangers attempt to lure Sakic to New York.
They signed him on Aug. 7, 1997, to a three-year, $21 million offer sheet that featured $15 million up front. The Avalanche had seven days to match.
"Initially, I was not that inclined to participate because when you go through an event like that and everything that accompanies it there's a tendency when it's done just to go back to work and forget about it," Lyons said. "In my view, nearly 30 years had passed, your recollection is hazy, and I was very concerned about a piece that was too earnest about saving hockey. I just wouldn't participate in something like that. But I also remember that there was a lot of humor in all of it. At the end of the day, when you look at everything that goes on in the world today, there's nothing like a little humor to put things into perspective. When the film made the turn to becoming a lighter piece that didn't take itself too seriously that's when I was happy to get involved. And then when I did get involved it reignited my passion for sports."