7 fun facts about Canucks' new assistant coach Adam Foote

If only Vancouver Canucks new assistant coach Adam Foote could still lace them up.

Foote was announced this week as an addition to Rick Tocchet’s coaching staff after news of his possible hiring was first floated on Saturday night.

In his prime, Foote was an imposing, right-shot, stay-at-home defenceman who was a surprisingly good skater.

Basically, he’s exactly what the Canucks need on their blueline.

Foote won’t be donning a Canucks jersey, but hopefully he can impart some wisdom on a Canucks defence core that’s struggled all season.

While we wait to see Foote’s impact on this team, here are seven fun facts about the decorated defender.

1. He was the last active NHL player who played with the Nordiques

It’s now been 27 years since the Quebec Nordiques last played an NHL game.

The franchise existed from 1979 until 1995 when the club relocated from Quebec to Colorado, where they became the Avalanche.

The Avalanche had immediate success, winning the Stanley Cup during their first year in Colorado.

A number of Nordiques alumni went on to have long and successful careers, but Foote will go down in history as the last member of the old Nordiques to play a game in the NHL. He retired after the 2010-11 season.

Two other Nordiques alumni with Canuck connections came close to Foote. Mats Sundin retired one year earlier after spending the last half-season of his career in Vancouver. Another Nordiques alumni, Owen Nolan, came to Vancouver on a Professional Tryout Contract (PTO) at the beginning of the 2011-12 season (after spending the previous year playing in Switzerland) but he was unable to secure a job.

2. Captained two NHL teams

You couldn’t be blamed for forgetting that Foote was an NHL captain at all, never mind for two teams.

Foote wore an “A” on his jersey as an alternate captain for eight years prior to the 2004-05 lockout. After the lockout, he signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he captained the team for three seasons.

The veteran defender then returned to Colorado during the 2008 trade deadline. He re-donned his “A” there until the beginning of the 2009-10 season. After Joe Sakic retired, Foote accepted the captaincy in Colorado for two seasons before his retirement.

3. He still doesn’t like Kris Draper

Foote was at the forefront of one of the fiercest feuds in NHL history.

The height of the rivalry occurred when Avalanche forward Claude Lemieux viciously checked Red Wings centre Kris Draper from behind.

Nearly two decades after the incident, Foote admitted that he still doesn’t like Draper.

“I just didn’t like the way Draper carried it,” Foote said in the 2016 interview. “And all we heard in the media for, God, over a year, was that hit. And it’s hockey, it happens, and the emotions were up. It’s too bad that he got hurt that way, but … he was always just a little bit of a pest.”

Part of Foote’s frustration stemmed from the fact that earlier in that infamous 1996 series, Red Wings forward Vyacheslav Kozlov slammed Foote’s face into the glass. Foote was bleeding everywhere and required 20 stitches from the incident.

4. Assisted on Stanley Cup-winning goal in 2001

While Foote grew as a player in Quebec, he was a legitimate top-pairing, shutdown defenceman during his days in Colorado.

Ice time statistics weren’t tracked when the Avs won the Cup in 1996. However, in 2001, Foote averaged an incredible 28:22 of ice time throughout the playoffs.

Although he wasn’t known for putting up points, Foote did register an assist on the eventual Cup-winning goal by Alex Tanguay.

5. Had his jersey retired by the Avalanche

The NHL currently has 176 retired jersey numbers, including Foote’s #52.

He became the fifth member of the Avalanche to have his jersey retired when his number went to the rafters back in November of 2013.

Ray Bourque, Patrick Roy, Joe Sakic, and Peter Forsberg all had their numbers retired by the Avalanche before Foote. Milan Hejduk became the sixth Avs player to have his number retired by the franchise back in 2018.

6. Both his sons have played in the NHL

Foote’s sons, Callan and Nolan, are former first-round draft picks who have played a handful of NHL games.

Callan Foote was drafted 14th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning back in 2017. Just like his dad, he’s a big, right-shot defenceman, who’s spent the majority of the past three seasons up in the NHL with Tampa, albeit in a depth role.

Nolan Foote was drafted 27th overall by the New Jersey Devils back in 2019. He’s played three NHL games this season, and is currently second on the Devils’ AHL team with 14 goals in 39 games.

7. Was fired from his lone coaching gig

It’s worth noting that Foote doesn’t have a ton of coaching experience.

His most recent coaching experience was back when he was head coach of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets. He was fired midway through his second season as the team struggled, which was notable because the Rockets were supposed to host the CHL’s Memorial Cup later that season.

Foote’s son, Nolan, was captain of the team at the time.