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Habs Legend Brings LHJMQ Cup Back to Québec

May 22, 2023, 12:06 PM ET [564 Comments]
Karine Hains
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Patrick Roy has always been known as a winner between the pipes, the goaltender backstopped the Canadiens and the Avalanche to two Stanley Cups each and won the Conn Smythe trophy as playoffs MVP three times during those four conquests. When Roy retired as a player, he joined the Quebec Remparts organization and immediately guided them to a Memorial Cup title (the Remparts were invited to the tournament even though they lost the LHJMQ final since the champions were the tournament’s host the Moncton Wildcats). His first stint with the Quebec junior outfit lasted until 2013 when he left to coach the Colorado Avalanche for a couple of seasons, but 6 years later in 2018 he came back to Quebec where he acted as both the team’s coach and GM to ultimately guide the team to a first LHJMQ championship since 1976 (the first incarnation of the team ceased operations in 1994 but came back in 1997 when the Harfangs de Beauport moved to Québec City).

When Roy left his position as Avalanche coach in 2016, he cited his lack of input in player personnel decisions, so it surprised no one when he came back to Quebec wearing both the GM and coach’s hat. Speaking to the press yesterday, Roy proudly said that winning this Cup was the plan all along when he drafted some of the players who have just spent the last 4 years playing under him and adding core pieces along the way. The Remparts completely dominated the playoffs this year ending their tournament with a 16-2 record, the only 2 games they lost were in the final against the Mooseheads who put up quite a fight.



After avoiding elimination in game 5, the Mooseheads tried to stay alive once again yesterday and they came oh so close to doing it. They started the game strong and took a 2-0 lead, which turned into a 3-1 lead later in the second period, but Roy’s Remparts never quit, they tied the game up at 3-3. Halifax thought the win was theirs when they made it 4-3 with a little over 3 minutes to play, but once again, the Remparts fought back tying up the score a minute later and scoring the series winning goal with 59 seconds left to the game. Just like that, Québec’s wait for a championship came to an end and Roy gave full credit to his players for the way they fought back in that game. After dropping game 5 at home, the coach told his players that championships aren’t given, they are earned, and his pupils definitely earned that win.

It's a well-known fact that Roy would like to get another shot in the NHL, he made that abundantly clear both when he got an agent and when the Canadiens were looking for a new GM. Sadly for Saint-Patrick, Jeff Gorton and co. decided to go for Kent Hughes rather than hiring the Habs’ legend but he’s not given up hope to find another home in the NHL and he’s even started to prepare his succession in Québec, grooming Simon Gagné to take over when he decides it’s time to go. Now that he’s finally grabbed the LHJMQ Championship, I think he’ll feel that time has come to move on, especially if he can manage to win a second Memorial Cup. Roy’s the second Habs legend to mark the Remparts history since Guy Lafleur played for the first incarnation of the team and marked its history with record breaking seasons.

The Memorial Cup tournament will kick off on Friday in Kamloops BC and it will feature the hosting Blazers, the Peterborough Petes, the Remparts and the Seattle Thunderbirds. Habs’ prospect Owen Beck will be back with the Petes after missing the end of the OHL final thanks to a suspension he got for a slew foot incident. He must have felt relieved when his team managed to overcome Logan Maillhoux’ London Knights yesterday. Beck has been an important player for the Petes during these playoffs racking up 16 points and chances are he’ll want to come out strong at the tournament and make people forget about the brain cramp that led to his suspension in the OHL final. 2022 Habs draftee Jared Davidson will also be taking part in the tournament with the Thunderbirds.



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