Current Vancouver Canucks assistant coach Adam Foote carved out a special place in his career as an elite NHL defenseman And in this cover story from The Hockey News’ April 26, 2002 edition (Volume 55, Issue 33), Foote wrote a first-person story on the challenges of being a defensive stopper in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
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Foote played most of his 19-year NHL career with the Colorado Avalanche, winning a Cup twice with the team. And he was fully aware that his main job was shutting down the other team’s top players. For that reason, providing offense was a notably secondary option when he was on the ice.
“You can’t take the chance of going on offense when you’re up against players with speed such as Pavel Bure and Paul Kariya,” Foote wrote. “Some players are so fast and so adept on turnovers, all it takes is for you to leave your spot for a split-second in an attempt to score to have it backfire and have the puck wind up in your own net. There are defensemen in the NHL who take chances like that all the time; I am not one of them.”
Foote played 1,154 regular-season NHL games and 170 playoff games, and he thrived as a physical force who was a difference-maker in his own zone. He welcomed that challenge, knowing full well what a difficult hill that was to climb.
“There are guys who, if you rub them out, they actually play better,” Foote said. “They welcome the challenge. I try to leave those guys alone. And there are other players who, if you rub them out, it takes them off their game. You can get under the skin of some players. You might give them a little extra jab after the whistle to see if they react. It’s funny what will get a guy going – it’s usually something fairly innocent.”
STOPPING STARS A MATCH GAME
Vol. 55, No. 33, April 26, 2002
By Adam Foote
My job with the Colorado Avalanche is to nullify the other team’s most dangerous scorers.
This means I’m often matched up against a specific line, or sometimes a specific player, along with my usual defense partner, Greg de Vries.
When I’m on the ice, my No. 1 responsibility is to prevent the opposition from scoring. You can’t take the chance of going on offense when you’re up against players with speed such as Pavel Bure and Paul Kariya. Some players are so fast and so adept on turnovers, all it takes is for you to leave your spot for a split-second in an attempt to score to have it backfire and have the puck wind up in your own net. There are defensemen in the NHL who take chances like that all the time; I am not one of them.
Whether or not I am matched up against a certain line on the other team depends on who we’re playing. When we faced St. Louis in the playoffs last year, Ray Bourque and Rob Blake went up against the (Pavol) Demitra line of Scott Young-Demitra-Pierre Turgeon. I was matched up against Keith Tkachuk. And in the final against New Jersey, I was on the ice whenever Jason Arnott’s line was (Petr Sykora and Patrik Elias were the wingers). The great thing about last year’s team was, Bourque and Blake were so good defensively, they could handle whoever they were up against.
We don’t do as much matching against a team like Detroit because they have three lines capable of scoring. We all just go out there knowing we have to be on on toes no matter who Detroit has on the ice
But against other teams when we do try to match up, it becomes a game within a game. That is especially true in the playoffs when line matchups take on a greater significance. You have to be aware of what is happening at all times. If you fall asleep for a second, it can kill you. One of the biggest things is getting to know the players you are up against. Obviously, a lot of that comes with experience. You get to know how certain players react to what you do.
There are guys who, if you rub them out, they actually play better. They welcome the challenge. I try to leave those guys alone. And there are other players who, if you rub them out, it takes them off their game. You can get under the skin of some players. You might give them a little extra jab after the whistle to see if they react. It’s funny what will get a guy going – it’s usually something fairly innocent.
I know there are players in the league who get in the faces of the guys they are checking and yap at them all the time. That’s not my style. In fact, I’m kind of superstitious. I’m not saying I don’t talk, because there are times in the heat of the action when I do, but it seems like B any time I talk to an opposing player, the puck ends up in my team’s net. When we played the Blues recently, my former teammate Shjon Podein asked me, “How’s it going?” at the faceoff. I told him I couldn’t talk to him. He turned to the ref and said, “You heard him talking to me, right?” The next time we were out he was saying, “Come on Adam, talk to me… talk to me.” He knows me too well.
No matter what line you’re up against, you have to try to figure out their strengths and weaknesses.
If I’m on the ice against (John) LeClair, (Todd) Bertuzzi or Tkachuk, I like to get a half a step on those guys so they can’t use their strength to get to the net. It’s one of my rules. A physical guy like LeClair wants you to go at him in the corner because he knows he can bully most players 1-on-l.
There are other guys who are good on the one-timer; with them you try to take away the pass.
Some guys aren’t as fast and you might not respect their skating. You squeeze them, take away their space. But you have to make sure it’s somebody who, if you go at them, is not going to burn you and make you look bad.
Obviously, there are times when you have to decide whether to join the rush. Part of the game is learning how to read the play. Is your teammate going to dump the puck in? If so, what’s the risk of getting caught too deep in the other team’s zone? Or is he going to make a play that you might be able to capitalize on? You need to make quick decisions.
Every NHL game is a challenge and you have to be ready to adapt. If you’re going to have success, you always have to respect your opponent – and expect the unexpected.
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