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Foote returns to home ice

Second former Cup winner is back in Colorado uniform

By Rick Sadowski, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 26, 2008 at 11:56 p.m.

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Adam Foote played his first game with the Avalanche since May 2004 on Tuesday night. Colorado had acquired him via trade earlier in the day.

Photo by AP

Adam Foote played his first game with the Avalanche since May 2004 on Tuesday night. Colorado had acquired him via trade earlier in the day.

Adam Foote is expected to arrive in Calgary today in time to play against the Flames tonight.

Photo by David Zalubowski / Associated Press

Adam Foote is expected to arrive in Calgary today in time to play against the Flames tonight.

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Enter one more blast from the past.

One day after bringing Peter Forsberg back to the fold, the Avalanche on Tuesday reacquired another member of its 1996 and 2001 Stanley Cup championship teams, defenseman Adam Foote from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

"I played against them, it was a pretty good team and those guys were a big part of it," Avalanche forward Ian Laperriere said. "Forsberg and Foote were a huge part of it. To have them on our team right now to help us get into the playoffs and do good in the playoffs, it's great.

"Everybody was pumped when we found out about 'Foppa,' and we can't wait to see them with an Avalanche jersey on."

The Avalanche is counting on these oldies to still be goodies.

"It's great that they were able to come back," captain Joe Sakic said. "There's a lot of excitement in the room. Now it's up to the players. We're confident. This is a tight conference and we have to put some wins together."

General manager Francois Giguere said he expects Forsberg to join the team "shortly . . . we'll see if he's there (today) or the next day."

Foote, 36, didn't arrive in time for the warm-up before Tuesday night's game against the Calgary Flames and got on the bench with 6:26 left in the first period. He took his first shift shortly after that.

Hard-nosed defenseman Ruslan Salei, acquired from the Florida Panthers in exchange for defenseman Karlis Skrastins and a 2008 third-round draft pick, will be available for tonight's game in Vancouver.

"We're hoping that by adding these three players it's going to energize our group and give us a chance to go into this stretch to try to climb back into a playoff spot," Giguere said.

The Avalanche paid a heavy price for the 6-foot-2, 224-pound Foote - a first-round pick this year if it makes the playoffs or a first-rounder in 2009 if it doesn't. Columbus also would receive a fourth-round pick in 2009 if Foote, who is eligible for unrestricted free agency, re-signs with the Avalanche.

But Giguere was determined to make the defense corps tougher and bigger. He said the Avalanche already had amassed several extra draft picks during his time as general manager and he's pleased with the number of young players on the roster and in the organization.

Like Forsberg, Foote was an integral - and popular - member of the Avalanche during its glory days, when the team was contending for Stanley Cups every year.

Foote, who was the Blue Jackets' captain, is in the final year of a three-year, $13.5 million contract. Columbus wanted to sign him to an extension and offered a two- year, $7 million deal, but he and his agent, Rick Curran, were seeking $8 million for two years.

When they couldn't come to terms, Foote agreed to waive his no-trade clause if the Blue Jackets would trade him to the Avalanche.

Giguere said he had been talking with Columbus general manager Scott Howson "for a while" and was waiting for the outcome of Foote's contract discussions.

"It was probably early (Tuesday) morning that things really started to heat up," Giguere said.

Giguere said he would wait until after the season to determine which players, including Foote, he would attempt to re-sign.

"We just got Adam a few hours ago," he said. "The focus right now is going to be on getting this team to the playoffs."

Foote had one goal, 14 assists, 95 penalty minutes and a plus-3 rating in 63 games this season while averaging a team-high 24:01 of ice time.

"It's a huge day for us," Laper-

riere said. "It's not fun to see your teammates go, like 'Scratch,' but when you see your team make an improvement like that just in one day, it's very encouraging. Those guys play a hard game, a physical game and a gritty game. That's what we need right now."

Salei has played 11 NHL seasons, the first nine with the Anaheim Ducks. A 6-1, 213-pounder, he signed with the Panthers as a free agent in July 2006 and this season has three goals, 20 assists, 75 penalty minutes and a minus-5 rating in 65 games while averaging 23:16 in ice time.

Skrastins had one goal, three assists and 20 penalty minutes in 43 games for the Avalanche. He missed 12 games with a shoulder injury and was a healthy scratch in eight games after setting an NHL record for defensemen last season by playing in his 495th consecutive game.

" 'Footer' is happy to be back in Denver and we're happy to have him," coach Joel Quenneville said. "He was a big part of the team in the past. We know we got a stabilizer defenseman that can play big minutes and matchup minutes.

"(Salei) has got some good presence with the puck. He's got some skill on the back end, handles it pretty well. He's one more puck-moving defenseman that we can use."

Avalanche at Canucks

* When: 8 MST tonight.

* Where: General Motors Place, Vancouver, British Columbia.

* TV/radio: Altitude; KKFN-AM (950).

* Leading scorers

Colorado (31-26-6) G A P

C Paul Stastny 18 32 50

LW Andrew Brunette 12 28 40

RW Milan Hejduk 20 19 39

LW Wojtek Wolski 14 25 39

RW Marek Svatos 26 8 34

Coach:

Joel Quenneville

Vancouver (32-22-8) G A P

C Henrik Sedin 12 51 63

LW Daniel Sedin 26 36 62

LW Markus Naslund 22 25 47

LW Taylor Pyatt 13 16 29

C Ryan Kesler 16 12 28

Coach:

Alain Vigneault * Injuries: Colorado - D Brett Clark (dislocated shoulder) and LW Cody McCormick (chest contusion) are on injured reserve; D Jeff Finger (hand) is day to day. Vancouver - D Lukas Krajicek (shoulder) and C Brendan Morrison (wrist) are out; D Aaron Miller (foot) is day to day.

* Sidelight: Newly acquired Avalanche defenseman Ruslan Salei was expected to arrive in Vancouver on Tuesday night, making him available for tonight's game.

* Notes: The Avalanche has gone 2-1-1 against the Canucks and is 5-3-0 in the second of games played on successive days. . . . The Canucks have won four in a row and are 5-0-1 in their past six games. . . . Goalie Roberto Luongo has allowed 11 goals in a personal 4-0-1 streak.

Comments

  • February 26, 2008

    12:05 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    dilligaf writes:

    Now we're talking

  • February 26, 2008

    12:08 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    EZBakeOven writes:

    Yeah, baby! Can we coax Roy out of retirement now?

  • February 26, 2008

    12:14 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    R8R_H8R writes:

    YES! YES! YES! We never shoulda let him go. This team has been severely lacking on the Defensive side since Foote left. WELCOME BACK!

  • February 26, 2008

    12:45 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Spidey writes:

    Jeeeeez whyyyy give up 1st round draft pick for Adam Foote?? he's O L D ! Should have just simply give up like 2nd or 3rd round picks

  • February 26, 2008

    12:47 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    SE7EN writes:

    I just can't wait to see Foote and Finger on the ice at the same time. That alone makes the trade worth it. Welcome home Adam!

  • February 26, 2008

    12:50 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    SE7EN writes:

    Spidey...1st round picks in the NHL don't hold the same value as they do in the NFL unless you have a very high pick. In my opinion, better Foote than Blake. To get the 38 year old Blake would require a 1st round pick AND a player.

  • February 26, 2008

    1:15 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Spidey writes:

    SE7EN... I think you're right--Foote has less ego than Blake. by the way... GO AVS!!!! (I'd probably eat a puck if Avs won Cup, heh!)

  • February 26, 2008

    1:22 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    lunabella21 writes:

    OMG, I'm so fricken happy, I'm a little worried about spontaneously combusting....

  • February 26, 2008

    1:48 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    ibanez4206 writes:

    Um... Drury, anyone?

  • February 26, 2008

    2:50 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Meatwallet writes:

    Foote is good. Foot is not. Forsberg is done. I'm in Philly and I watched him limp around for the past two years or so. Very frustrating. Nice to see Sakic back.

  • February 26, 2008

    2:50 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Patriot writes:

    Thank you Av's management for giving us hope!

  • February 26, 2008

    3:25 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    SteveC writes:

    ibanez, I couldn't agree more. Letting Drury go was a huge mistake. Glad to see Foote back though! I'm not sure about Forsberg, GREAT player WHEN he's healthy, but the injuries have plagued him for years.

  • February 26, 2008

    6:03 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    T_Bone44 writes:

    When Adam and Peter both left they made it sound like they might return one day. I remember reading their statements when they left and they both said how much they really enjoyed Denver (who doesn't? I moved to Chicago two years ago and am moving back in June). It's almost as if this was planned. They both left for a couple years to see if they might have success elsewhere. Didn't pan out and they are both back at home with Sakic and Hejduk.

    Now, they can end their careers on a team with an amazing amount of talent. Hopefully, we can enjoy two to three more years of these guys. I can't wait to see their jerseys in the rafters of the Pepsi Center where they belong. It wouldn't have been right to have Forsberg and Foote retiring in other cities. It would have been like Joe Montana ending his career in Kansas City.

    The Avalanche always make blockbuster deals and bring in amazing talent. Hopefully, this year will have a great ending and we'll see these guys back next season. Or two or three more seasons!!

  • February 26, 2008

    7:30 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    GJrodburner writes:

    I can't see a stronger way to increase what we have than to go backwards towards those that moved forward, albeit, with hopes of returning someday. That's exactly what has happened with Foote and Forsberg arriving here in Denver once again. I'm going to hold out hope upon hope that Peter can just give us enough to ride into the third round of the W.C.P.O's. Yeah, I know that's a stretch, but why not? What better way to get off of the skid we've been on than to get some quality veteran players that we all hated to see move on. It finally took this team three seasons plus to figure out the salary cap and how to stock-pile draft picks and then draft well. With any luck Joe Q will provide the better line ups with these acquisitions, and better line ups could pull this team from second to last in the Northwest into first place within a week.

  • February 26, 2008

    7:53 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Rob71 writes:

    Spidey nailed it - Avs gave up too much for an older, slower version of Foote. The Jackets will have the better end of this deal...Footer is the best at one thing only now - stupid penalties at crucial moments, not like a wizened veteran at all. This version of Back to the Future for the Avs could be foolish, lots of eggs in rickety, older baskets.