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Colorado Avalanche: Could Patrick Roy End Up on the Hot Seat?

By Janik Beichler

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The Colorado Avalanche went from being first in the Central Division and third in the league to missing the playoffs, while playing some really uninspired hockey. The playing style is in large part the coach’s doing, and when teams miss their goals too many times, the coach is often the first person that has to pack up his stuff. If the Avalanche miss the playoffs again and show no sign of improvement, could Head Coach Patrick Roy end up on the hot seat?

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Roy has only been coaching the team for two years, but it isn’t too far fetched. If a team plays bad hockey and doesn’t show any sign of improvement, it often falls back on the coach. Just ask the Edmonton Oilers and the six coaches the club has had over the past six years. Furthermore, the Avalanche’s assistant coaching staff got changed up this off-season as well.

However, let’s just make this clear right now, Patrick Roy is a completely different story. The 49-year-old played for the Avs from 1995 to 2003, after an inglorious farewell from Montréal. That’s a different story — but fact is, Roy was and still is one of everyone’s favorite Avalanche players of all time.

Everybody was happy about the front office overhaul, which included bringing in Roy and Joe Sakic. Roy then went on to turn a rather mediocre team into the Central Division Champions in his first year with the club. He was, and probably still is, regarded as the Avalanche’s savior by many fans.

Mar 26, 2015; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Colorado Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy (L) yells from behind the bench during the third period against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. The Avalanche won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

As stated in a different article, the Division Championship blew everyone’s expectations out of proportion. The Colorado Avalanche isn’t one of the best teams in the league, and they never were under coach Roy. As much as it hurts to say this, the 2013-14 season was a fluke.

That said, the 2014-15 campaign could have gone better anyway. It would be too easy — and totally wrong — to blame it on coach Roy, though. From what we have seen so far, Roy is a great coach, and he will hopefully stay with the Avalanche for much longer.

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As of now, the team simply isn’t good enough to be at the top of their division. It is impossible to win the Championship with a team like that every year. A realistic expectation for next season would be a season hopefully slightly better than the last one, which could allow the Avalanche to sneak into a wild card playoff spot. Another playoff miss could happen just as easily, though, no matter how good the coach is.

A lot can happen over the next year, but one thing should be clear. No matter where the Colorado Avalanche ends up, coach Roy should be more than safe in his position. If nothing changes for another few years after that, however, his time may run out eventually.

What do you think would have to happen for Patrick Roy to end up on the hot seat? Let us know in the comments!

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