Welcome to LWOS’ Summer Hockey Series, Best of the Rest. Plenty of sites do a version of a 30 greats in 30 days series, but this year we are doing something a little bit different. We want to look at the best player from each team who is not in the Hockey Hall Of Fame. In order to do this there are some rules. First the player must have been a significant part of this franchise (franchises include their time in a previous city… see Winnipeg/Atlanta) and must be retired for at least 3 years, making them Hall of Fame eligible. To see all the articles in the series, check out the homepage here.
The Québec Nordiques run in the NHL lasted 16 seasons and saw them battle provincial rival the Montreal Canadiens many times in the playoffs, ultimately winning two of five post-season meetings.The Nordiques franchise, having never brought a Stanley Cup to their city, was moved to Colorado and repackaged as the Colorado Avalanche, changing their red, white and blue igloo with a hockey stick to an A for Avalanche and a color scheme including burgundy and steel blue. Winning the Stanley Cup the very year they moved and another five years later, the Avalanche built their reputation in the mid-90s to 2000s as a threat in the league.
Of course, this came with smart drafting, signing an entire Stastny family and the infamous trade that sent Eric Lindros to Philadelphia for the likes of Peter Forsberg, Mike Ricci and 1st round pick (they got two, but one was traded) that turned out to be goaltender Jocelyn Thibeault, who then went to Montreal in a package for a package including Patrick Roy. The gift that kept giving, as Chevy Chase put it. In a sense, it was a little luck and all glory from then on.
With such a history, it’s to no surprise that the Nordiques/Avalanche franchise has seen their fair share of players being sent to the NHL Hall of Fame. Among them are greats like longtime captain Joe Sakic, arguably the best goaltender of all time Patrick Roy, 1st overall pick by the Nordiques in 1989 Mats Sundin and one of the best snipers in the 80’s Michel Goulet. Other great names that stayed for a brief period range from the likes of Guy Lafleur to Raymond Bourque and Bryan Trottier, both of whom were a part of the 2001 Stanley Cup victory — Bourque as a player in his least NHL season and Trottier as an assistant coach.
It’s easy to overlook names when you have such a stacked team but one player stands out like a sore thumb, you can’t miss it. While he wasn’t the most prolific scorer, the flashiest player, or the biggest talker, he was a large reason for the Avalanche’s Cup success in 1996 and 2001 and why the team remained as one of the most feared teams.
Colorado Avalanche – Adam Foote
If Sandis Ozolinsh, Rob Blake, and Bourque were the offensive punch of the Avalanche’s Cup winning days, then Adam Foote was the “Block” used during times of much needed defensive strategy. Foote, drafted 22nd overall in 1989 by the Québec Nordiques, was your prototypical stay-at-home defenseman; he was gritty, he was mean and he could drop you like a sack of potatoes with a lowered shoulder to the chest. Add to that was the fact he was a smooth skater for a 6’2, 220lbs frame, Foote’s name was synonymous to the word “devastating” and the rest of the league quickly found out why.
Starting in Québec, Foote’s lack of an offensive game was evident in the numbers; 10 goals in 207 career games with the Nordiques. This wasn’t the case during his 3-year stint with OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, where Foote and the Greyhounds won the J. Ross Robertson Cup and appeared in the Memorial Cup tournament during Foote’s final season. Coached then by Ted Nolan, Foote amassed 69 points (18 goals, 51 assists) in 59 games and put up a 17-point performance during the Greyhounds 14 playoff games en route to winning the OHL Championship. Although that offensive awareness never translated to the NHL, his size and frame was welcomed and with it came solid checking and aggressiveness.
As part of the newly-moved Colorado Avalanche, Foote put his hands (and lips) on the Stanley Cup for the first time in his career along with the 1996 team. The big man put up just 5 goals and 11 assists over 73 games that season and while he managed just 4 points during the Avalanche’s 22-game playoff run, it was his ability to clear the net and win one-on-one puck battles in corners that was a necessary counterpart in Colorado’s efficient defensive game, helping the team sweep the Florida Panthers in the finals. 1996 was also a year that saw Foote participate in the World Cup of Hockey as part of the Canadian team. While they made the finals and won the first game of a best-of-3 against the United States, they went on to drop the final two games, both by score of 5-2.
Five years later, Colorado returned to Hockey Nirvana when they defeated the New Jersey Devils in 7 games to capture their second Stanley Cup. As a 29-year-old, Foote put up 15 points (3 goals, 12 assists) in 35 games. His season was shortened that year due to a series of injuries — a right heel fracture that cost him 12 games and a separated shoulder that had him sitting for 35 games. Foote managed to return completely healthy for the post-season and recorded 3 goals and 4 assists during their run. Their repeat attempt the following year came oh-so-close, losing to the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference finals in 7 games.
International success found it’s way into Foote’s career once again, this time in the form of Gold. After finishing with a disappointing 4th place result in the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, Foote and Team Canada returned to glory in 2002 by ending their 50-year gold medal winless streak. Two years later, Foote added a second Gold medal when Canada defeated Finland in the finals of the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and he was also named to the Tournament All-Star team. Unfortunately the end to Foote’s international play was a disaster, as Canada failed to defend their 2002 Olympic gold medal, finishing 7th in the 2006 Torino Winter Games.
The 2004-05 NHL lock-out put an end to the league’s activity that year but it also put an end to Adam Foote’s 13-season run with the Avalanche franchise. In the 2005-06 season, Foote signed a three-year deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets, paying him a total of $15 million. As soon as he could step into the new lockeroom, Foote was handed the role as one of the Alternate Captains. Later that year, due to defenseman Luke Richardson stepping down from the captaincy of the team, Foote was named the Blue Jackets 4th captain in the franchise’s young history. After three seasons and some nagging lower-body injuries that took Foote out of the line-up for bunches of games, Foote was dealt back to the Colorado Avalanche.
In one of the most memorable moments of the 2000s, Foote arrived in Calgary the night he was traded, where the Avalanche were taking on the Flames. During the 1st period, a camera crew was ready in position to capture the number 52 and the name “Foote” on the back of an Avalanche jersey. As Foote took his seat at the bench, nostalgia poured out and goosebumps around the hockey world were felt.
Re-signing with the Avalanche for two more years, Foote would become the 2nd captain in the history of the club in Denver, succeeding long-time captain Joe Sakic. Unfortunately for him, Foote was sidelined with a long list of injuries to his knees and back spasms. As the man-games missed piled on, the final coup de grace was an ankle injury suffered in April of 2011. Foote would miss 12 games due to the injury and came to the decision that it was time to call it a career. His final game was a 4-3 overtime victory against the Edmonton Oilers in which Foote was named the 1st star of the game, to honor his career and give him a beautiful send-off. The Altitude Broadcast gave the call of the game when they announced that “Adam Foote’s team” had won the game.
Is he Hall of Fame worthy? Perhaps it is too early to tell. Retiring in 2011, he is only eligible as of this year, so he can expect a couple of years of voting ahead of him. With two Stanley Cup rings, Gold in both the Olympics and the World Cup of Hockey and a jersey retirement ceremony in Colorado, Foote has a case. Defensive defencemen don’t get considered often enough for the Hall, it’s an unglamorous role, but also one absolutely critical to team success, and Foote was one of the best of his generation. His numbers don’t necessarily do him any justice but his presence and name value alone should provide more than enough to earn him enough votes eventually.
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