Bethany's Hockey Rants

Avs are in Town

by Bethany on 01/12/09 at 10:28 PM ET
Comments (2)

Tomorrow night is the night when the Colorado Avalanche come to Columbus. One man who won’t be on the ice for the Avs - Adam Foote, will still likely be the talk of the town. In fact, he’s been the talk for almost a year now. You see, Foote left us, five points out of a playoff spot, and apparently, Terry Frei, thinks that even though he left, we still received draft picks, so we shouldn’t be bitter. Here’s what he said:

The funny thing is, Columbus ended up getting first- and fourth-round draft choices for Foote, now 37. That’s a great deal for the Blue Jackets - one that looks more as if the Jackets made it from a position of strength, not backed-into-a-corner weakness.

Should the draft picks be a consolation prize? No. Should we be so happy that we got them? Yes, that is way too much for a too slow and old defenseman. But that doesn’t change the fact that he ditched us at the one point in time when we needed him most.

Now, let’s take a look at Foote. He WAS my favorite player, he wore the ‘C’ for the Blue Jackets, and he was expected to lead the way for the Jackets to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The deadline came, and Foote was gone. I will be honest, I had put my heart and soul into this team, and I was so upset when he left - tearful conversations followed. But, then, the real story began to come out.

Foote was taken in a super fast jet to Calgary, where the night of the deadline, Foote conveniently arrived in time to play, and had a sweater waiting for him.

Majority owner John P. McConnell has said on the record that Foote has said if he wasn’t traded he wouldn’t play. So, why would we not think that he is a traitor? Why would we not boo him? Because of US the paying fans, he received his checks, and then last season, he ditched us. Why in the world would Adam Foote be shown any respect from Columbus fans?

Foote has declined to speak with any media from Columbus - including myself. Believe me, I have tried. But, like the boys at the Dispatch said, he can run, but he can’t hide forever. There will be a time, when he’s out at a restaurant, when he’s signing autographs in Denver, somewhere, a Blue Jackets fan will find him, and make him answer the questions that are still left hanging out there.

By the way. Here is what happened when a certain media member from the Dispatch tried to interview Foote.

Reporter: “I’d like to speak with Adam.”

Avalanche public relations person: “He is not here today.”

Reporter, puzzled, having noticed Foote’s children in the vicinity: “Who’s watching the kids?”

The PR man looked around, saw the kids, disappeared and wasn’t seen again that morning.

Later, the PR person explained, “Adam didn’t skate today, so he didn’t feel like it would be appropriate to talk.”

The reporter made a bid to speak with Foote during the pregame interview period, which is mandated by the NHL, and was told that the defenseman would be “getting treatment” for “most of the pregame.”

“I’m very sorry we could not make it work,” the PR person said.

Be ready Jackets fans. Tomorrow night, even if he doesn’t play get out your boo birds, and let’s cheer on our boys to another victory against the Avs. Maybe, just maybe, Foote will be man enough to play the next time they come to town.

Is there REALLY any doubt of how things played out?

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