Former Colorado Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy, who was enshrined into the NHL Hall of Fame in 2006, has been out of the league since August 2016. For those that are not familiar with the situation, Roy resigned as head coach of the Avalanche in August 2016 due to not having enough power in the team.
Following his recognition, he issued this statement:
"“For the past three years, I have carried out my duties as Head Coach and Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Colorado Avalanche with energy, passion and determination. I have thought long and hard over the course of the summer about how I might improve this team to give it the depth it needs and bring it to a higher level. To achieve this, the vision of the coach and VP-Hockey Operations needs to be perfectly aligned with that of the organization. He must also have a say in the decisions that impact the team’s performance. These conditions are not currently met. Today, I am informing you of my decision to leave the Colorado Avalanche organization. Though it saddens me, I have put much thought about this decision in recent weeks and have come to be fully comfortable with it. I am grateful to the Colorado Avalanche organization, with which I remain in good terms, for letting me lead this great team. I thank all the players I have had the pleasure of coaching and the fans for their unwavering, unconditional support. I remain forever loyal to the Avalanche with which I played 478 games, coached another 253, and won two Stanley Cups.”– Patrick Roy in 2016 following his resignation from head coach of the Colorado Avalanche."
Patrick Roy just won the Memorial Cup with the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and said that this season would be his last as its head coach.
It is pretty mind-boggling to think that a team would be interested in hiring Roy in any capacity given his track record. To quit on a team (Avalanche, 2016) before the season begins is just not something that is attractive to teams.
I understand the itch to coach, but the idea of Roy being a quitter could and probably will follow him. He would have to provide a pretty darn big pitch if he were to land another job as an NHL head coach.
In three seasons as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche, Roy had a 130-92-24 record (the last column is overtime losses). His teams failed to make the postseason in two of his three seasons as head coach.
Fans may want to see the Avalanche superstar back on the sidelines for some team, but it doesn’t seem likely that that would happen. Of course, never say never. I’m not an NHL general manager or owner.
Currently, there are three NHL head coaching vacancies:
- New York Rangers
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- Calgary Flames
The Flames appear set to hire Ryan Huska as its new head coach, so we can take them out of consideration.
Honestly, if Roy is considered by an NHL team, who’s to say it would even be this year? Maybe there is a team out there in the future that would consider him. It would be interesting to see if he’s still interested in a job a year from now.