Adam Foote turns 37 on July 10. He hopes by the start of Avalanche training camp in September, he is not the oldest player on the team.
Joe Sakic turns 39 on July 7.
“I’m up at the cottage (in Ontario) right now, and I got a message from (Sakic) yesterday,” Foote said this morning. “He gave me a little rip about being old. I’m going to be calling him in the next couple days. I won’t be digging at him, what he’s going to do, that’s for sure. But we’ll have a few laughs, and I’ll respect whatever decision he makes, but I hope I’m not the oldest guy on the team.”
Foote, who signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the Avs Monday, said he and his wife, Jennifer, “can’t wipe the smiles off our faces” about staying in Denver.
“As corny as it may sound, I bleed the Avalanche. It’s in my blood,” Foote said. “Not every player gets to play where they want to be, and I’m very happy about that.”
Foote’s first choice was always to stay with the Avs, after returning to the team at the NHL’s trade deadline in February from Columbus, where he signed as a free agent in 2005. Foote said Avs general manager Francois Giguere told him right after the season that the team wanted him back as well, but that “it wasn’t a for-sure thing.” But once the math was done about the team’s finances and priorities put in order, the parties came to agreement.
“At the end of the year, my wife and I looked at each other and said ‘this is where we want to be.’
Despite his upcoming birthday, Foote said: “I have so much energy right now. I’m so excited. The way I’m wired is to always prove that I can play at a high level and keep maintaining it.”
Foote, the likely team captain if Sakic retires, probably will be the team’s most influential voice in persuading Sakic to return for a 20th season. At the end of the season, Foote said, he began trying to sway him at a team party.
“I got in his ear a little bit. Joe and I have been together for so long. I hope he stays on board,” Foote said. “He can still play. I know he can still play.”
Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com
