As he demonstrated again Thursday, Patrick Roy’s powers of magic aren’t just limited to stopping pucks from crossing goal lines. He can turn a humid, hazy August day into a launchpad for hockey talk – in this case, by unexpectedly resigning as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche – with the simple assembly of a press release. And while his decision leaves the Avs more than a little in the lurch at this late point of the off-season, the reasons behind it (mainly, that he didn’t have sufficient input into the team’s roster decisions) are vintage Roy.
Because if you’ve followed his career as a goaltending superstar and Jack Adams Award-winning bench boss, you know very little Roy ever does has a lower-case energy to it. In his own way, while being as respectful as he can within the sport’s restrictive culture, Roy practically shimmers with self-esteem. It is one of the things that’s fuelled his journey from the rinks of his native Quebec City to the Hockey Hall of Fame; it's what endears him to the team he’s representing and that repels fans of and players on the teams he opposes.
And it’s what will sooner than later put him back in an NHL rink – likely, wielding more executive power than at any point prior.
The 50-year-old Roy has done just about everything a hockey player can do, but despite winning the Adams Award in Colorado two seasons ago, he hasn’t been able to guide the Avalanche to a playoff round win. But Roy is nobody’s fool, and he understands full well how difficult it is to stay on top of the NHL coaching business. Another year of disappointment this coming season would’ve put a notable amount of tarnish on his resume, and it thus was no surprise he began speaking out publicly about the need for significant change in on-ice personnel to help him avoid that fate.
When Avs GM Joe Sakic failed to make such a degree of change this summer, it was only a matter of time until Roy – who also held the title of vice-president of hockey operations and who did have a voice in what talent the team put on the ice – would be out somewhere else, seeking a job that gave him more control than he had in three years behind Colorado’s bench.
Maybe he gets it in Montreal, where the ice under coach Michel Therrien remains rather thin and the anger level among Canadiens fans toward GM Marc Bergevin has been bubbling over since the trading of beloved defenseman P.K. Subban. What better way to satisfy some of those fans than by handing the reins over to a franchise icon? This isn’t to say Roy would be the best choice, but if you’re thinking both Roy and Habs owner Geoff Molson haven’t imagined such a scenario coming to pass, you’re wrong.
Or maybe Roy gets ultimate control in Quebec City, if an NHL team lands in that majestic town either by expansion or relocation. Certainly, a hometown hero – someone who won a Memorial Cup championship there as a coach in 2006 – would be the easiest sell of all time. Moreover, he’d likely have a much longer leash in Quebec City than he would in Montreal, and if he were starting a team from scratch, he’d need every inch of it.
In any case, after Thursday’s news, it’s difficult to envision Roy returning as another NHL playoff team’s mid-season replacement, and doing so while serving at the pleasure of a GM who doesn’t look back at him when he wakes up and looks in the mirror each morning. He’s seen enough and done enough and won enough to give himself enough evidence he can still be a difference-maker, and nothing less than a GM-level say in roster moves will get him back.
Roy’s self-regard may be anathema to people who didn’t cheer for his teams, but it’s also what makes him irresistible to NHL power brokers. Some owner will look at his history and give him the luxuries he's looking for. For better or worse, Roy believes in himself and his team, and isn’t that one of the key things you want from your coach?
In Roy’s mind, it’s unfortunate he ultimately couldn’t coach the Avs to a Stanley Cup, but that’s not going to dent his sense of competitiveness in the least. He’s determined to continue adding chapters to his legend, but he’s equally determined to be their final author and editor.