DALLAS — He not only was the last link to the Quebec Nordiques as a franchise, he was the last link to the Avalanche’s glorious first season in Denver after it moved from Quebec.

Friday morning, Adam Foote will say farewell — or, adieu to the Quebecers who still remember him. Foote, the Avalanche captain, will announce his retirement from the game at an 11 a.m. news conference at the Pepsi Center.

“I’ll always remember how hard he played,” said Marc Crawford, the Dallas Stars coach who coached the Avs’ Stanley Cup team of 1996. “It was a privilege to coach him, and he really did a lot of great things not only for me, but to the Colorado and Quebec organizations, and for the league. Even when we played him this year, he was still one of the toughest guys in the league to face. He really thought the front of the net as his area. It was definitely a no-parking zone to him.”

Foote, 40, will have played 19 NHL seasons after Sunday’s season finale against Edmonton at home – a game Foote is hoping to play despite being injured of late with a leg injury. He will not play in Friday’s home match against Dallas.

Never a big scorer, Foote more than made up for that with a tenacious, physical style at the defensive end. He will retire having won Stanley Cups with the Avs in 1996 and 2001, and a gold medal with Canada at the 2002 Olympics.

“I think he’ll do down as one of the best shut-down type of defensemen from his era,” Avs coach Joe Sacco said. “He was the only captain of the teams I’ve coached since coming to the NHL, and he was a great leader who set a real good example to the younger guys on what it took to be a pro in this league.”

Foote’s 966 games with Quebec/Colorado is the most of any defensemen in franchise history. His 203 assists is the franchise record for defensemen.

“I knew, playing with him, that he was a great player, but I never got a true feeling for him as a player until I played against him,” said Avs assistant coach Adam Deadmarsh, who played with Foote from 1995-2001. “He made it a long night on you, that’s for sure. He was a tough guy to play against and he did it for a long time. He should be very proud of his career.”

Foote’s final season didn’t go the way he wanted. Nagging injuries started to dog him, and the Avs are likely to finish 29th overall in the 30-team league.

Matt Duchene, who lived in the basement of Foote’s home the past two seasons, said he and players have known for a while this likely would be Foote’s his last year.

“It’s something we talked about together,” Duchene said. “He’s going to be part of a group of about three or four people who were huge in my career. He was a great guy to play with, and I’m sure every guy in this room will have something they can take from their time with him.”

Foote will stay in the Denver area after retirement. He plans to coach a 13-and-under boys hockey team – the Colorado Thunderbirds.

“That will be great for him, to be able to pass along the game to kids that age,” Duchene said.

Who will succeed Foote as Avalanche captain probably won’t be known until later this summer. Candidates likely will include Paul Stastny, John-Michael Liles and perhaps Milan Hejduk, if the veteran forward re-signs for another season.

“We’ll see what happens there,” Hejduk said. “I’m not sure I’d be their guy, but who knows.”

Asked what he’ll always remember most about playing with Foote, Hejduk said: “Just his passion for the game. He always came to the rink in a pretty good mood, and always kept everybody pretty level-headed. He was always there for his teammates, that’s probably what I’ll always think about him most.”

Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com