Sarich was originally selected in the 2nd round, 27th overall, in the
1996 NHL entry draft by the
Buffalo Sabres. After first playing midget hockey with the Saskatoon Contacts, he played the majority of his major junior hockey career in his native Saskatoon with the
Blades of the
Western Hockey League. Sarich was traded along with
Wayne Primeau and
Brian Holzinger from Buffalo, to the
Tampa Bay Lightning for
Chris Gratton on March 9, 2000, and played with the
Stanley Cup-winning team of
2003–04. After seven seasons within the Lightning organization, Sarich returned to Canada and signed a five-year contract as a free agent with the
Calgary Flames on July 1, 2007. During the
2007–08 season, on December 12, 2007, Sarich became the NHL's reigning
iron man when
Brendan Morrison was forced to miss a game with wrist complications. He played his 419th consecutive game the day before in a game against Tampa Bay, where Sarich had played four full seasons and 388 games. During the
lockout-shortened
2012–13 season, Sarich was reduced to a reserve defenseman role, featuring often as a healthy scratch. On March 26, 2013, Sarich appeared in his 900th career game in a 2-0 defeat to the
Chicago Blackhawks. In the off-season, on June 27, 2013, Sarich waived his no-trade clause with the Flames and was traded, along with
Alex Tanguay, to the
Colorado Avalanche in exchange for
David Jones and
Shane O'Brien. He appeared in 54 games with the Avalanche during the
2013–14 season, scored one goal and added nine assists. While cycling during off-season training near
Invermere, British Columbia, Sarich was struck and seriously injured by a car and ultimately transported by air ambulance to hospital in Calgary. He stated that he suffered "five broken vertebrate and some serious road rash", but expected to make a complete recovery. ==Personal life==