Adam Foote may be one of the most under appreciated defensemen in the history of the game. He has always been one of the top defensemen on his respective teams, charged with going out against his opponent’s best players and shutting them down, something he’s absolutely excelled at.
He’s a physical, hard-nosed, smooth-skating defenseman. He doesn’t put up big numbers because that’s not his job, but he does still chip in offensively in key moments.
Now, it seems that at the end of his 19th year as an NHL player, and second as captain of the Colorado Avalanche, Adam Foote plans to retire at the end of this season.
This marks the end of a stellar career that includes two Stanley Cups, an Olympic Gold Medal and a Hockey World Cup Championship.
His numbers are not gaudy, but still good. He has played in 1,153 games, scored 66 goals, tallied 242 assists and racked up 1,534 penalty minutes.
Foote’s career plus-99 rating is an all too telling stat that shows how truly effective he has been as a shutdown defenseman. For 19 years in the league, that is unbelievably good.
With Foote seemingly set on retiring, it now begs the question, who will be the next captain of the Colorado Avalanche? Let’s have a look at some of the possibilities.