Sakic, Shanahan named All-Star captains

[PJKCards]

DALLAS (AP) -- Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche and Brendan Shanahan of the New York Rangers will be the captains in the NHL All-Star game Wednesday night.

Sakic, the West captain, will be playing in his 12th All-Star game and his fourth as a starter. He was the MVP of the 2004 game, which is the last one because of the lockout in 2005 and an Olympics break last year.

Shanahan, the East captain, is an All-Star for the eighth time. At 37, he's the oldest player on either squad.

Sakic made his All-Star debut 17 years ago Sunday.

"It's a relaxed environment," he said on a conference call Thursday during which his captaincy was announced. "Guys are having fun, joking around on the ice. I don't think anyone takes it too serious. ... You just talk about your teams, what you've done, see old friends and meet new friends."

The All-Star break begins Sunday. The All-Stars will practice in Dallas on Monday night. The YoungStars game and skills competition will be held Tuesday night.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_yl...v=ap&type=lgns