Did anyone really think Patrick Roy wouldn't return as Avalanche coach next year?
This was Roy's reaction Saturday after GM Joe Sakic said he'd be back for a fourth season behind the bench:
"For some reason I never felt in danger. I have a great relationship with Joe, we always talk, and we're very close. I know that we all have to be better, not just the coaching staff. The players, the core, we all know we have to do things a bit different next year in order to be more successful and make the playoffs.
"The objective is we have to make the playoffs, there's no doubt about it. It's clear in our mind and the coaching staff has been working extremely hard to prepare our team very well."
Here's my Saturday NHL.com story on ROY'S RETURN.
Matt Duchene wasn't surprised, even though the Avalanche's point production has gone from 112 to 90 to 82, with back-to-back seasons without playoffs.
"None of us thought Patty was on the hot seat," he said. "Those guys have a plan and they're carrying it out. All of us as a group have to do our best. If they make changes, they make changes. If they don't, they don't and you got to be ready for next season."
The Avalanche lost their final six games and eight of the last nine to finish five points behind Minnesota for the second wild card playoff berth in the Western Conference. The Wild lost their last five games, though a loss to Calgary on Saturday didn't matter because the Avalanche were already eliminated.
I asked captain Gabriel Landeskog if he could explain the team's awful play down the stretch.
"I wish I could, to be honest with you," he said. "I really have been trying ... I knew that question was going to come ... trying to figure out a way to answer it. As much as I hate to say it, it feels like we played our worst hockey at the worst possible time.
"We gave ourselves a chance all season to be in the mix coming into March, to be in a playoff spot come March, and we kept losing big games. Even on home ice we had a couple games against Nashville, one against Minnesota, one against Philadelphia that stand out to me. Those are games you just can't lose."
Sakic said Saturday that changes are in order.
"Oh, I'm not surprised," Landeskog said. "That's sort of what you got to expect after a season like this. I don't think anybody's safe in this room. We believe we have a good enough team to make the playoffs, and there's no doubt in my mind about that. When you don't, there's going to be consequences. As much as I hate to be answering these questions, we haven't been playing good enough. We should have been in the playoffs and we should have made a run. When you don't, there's going to be consequences."
Said Duchene: "It's a business. All of us are men and we understand that. We get paid a lot of money and we're done too early again."
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Duchene pretty much summed up what went haywire down the stretch.
"Minny opened the door for us and we slammed it on ourselves," he said. "This year we had a chance and we kind of blew it."
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Nathan MacKinnon missed the final 10 games with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee, which he sustained March 18 in Calgary. Sakic said he won't need surgery. MacKinnon missed the final 18 games last season with a broken foot.
"I haven’t even skated yet," he said. "It's not feeling great at all right now. You've got to be careful, because it could really mess up your knee if you push it."
MacKinnon finished with 21 goals and 52 points.
"It was very tough," he said of the injury. "You want to help the guys, especially in a playoff push like this. It’s no fun sitting on the sidelines watching the team. I felt like a little bit of a bum on the road games. I’m out eating dinner and having my supper at 6 o’clock and I know the guys are going out for warmups or having their meetings.
"It’s frustrating, it’s the second straight season I missed the remainder of the year in crucial times. When I got hurt I think we were in the playoffs or just on the outside looking in. It sucks. It’s unfortunate and hopefully it doesn’t keep happening."