Roy Out, Sakic Too?

By now, I'm sure you're all aware that Patrick Roy confirmed Pierre Lacroix's head coaching job offer by turning it down. It was a hail mary pass that was not caught and one has to wonder why Lacroix tossed it so early.

One other fact we all know, which this sideshow distracted us from, is that Joe Sakic is once again on the brink of retirement. He won't announce his intentions to the public until after the Stanley Cup has been awarded, but has he already told Lacroix?

Because if Lacroix knows Joe is going to retire, he knows the franchise face is gone. And if the franchise face is gone, myriad questions pop up including "How are we going to sell season tickets?"

Cue St. Patrick.

But he didn't answer the call.

Bob Boughner as Assistant Coach?

If we're going to see Patrick Roy behind the bench after a short stint in QMJHL where he won a Memorial Cup with the Quebec Remparts, why not up the ante and bring back Bob Boughner, who just won the Memorial Cup as head coach of the upstart Windsor Spitfires, as one of his assistants?

Or is Boughner not a big enough name to put butts back in the seats, which we can safely assume is a key factor with the possible Roy hire.

Related Links
Why the Windsor Spitfires are hockey's most inspirational story

Patrick Roy as Coach and GM?

If the reports are true and Pierre Lacroix offered Patrick Roy the coach and GM roles with the Avalanche, then Lacroix has lost his friggin' mind. The dual role may work in the WHL, but I don't think it's sustainable long-term in the NHL these days.

If it's a ploy to sweeten the deal and keep Roy away from Montreal, then it's a bad one. Unless Lacroix's genius vision is to put Roy in as GM in a figurehead role and let people like Craig Billington et. al. do all the work. Once again, I come back to the whole "lost his friggin' mind" thought.

I spent most of my Sunday reading Batman comics - what? - and sleeping, so I missed this one until Elpou fired me an email which I got this morning. If anyone even has any articles or opinions to send my way, feel free to contact me via email, comments or telegraph.

And I swear, at some point I'll come out of hibernation and write more than once a week.

Report: Patrick Roy Mulling Head Coach Offer with Avalanche

According to Adrian Dater's sources, Patrick Roy has been offered the non-vacant head coaching position with the Colorado Avalanche and is mulling it over. Darren Dreger even goes so far as to say it's not only a coaching position but a "coach plus" position, with other management duties.

UPDATE: AD reports via his blog that Roy is denying he's been offered anything. Does "offered" have the same connotations as "handed"? Maybe not in a PR world.

When they hired Tony Granato last offseason, I was not happy. Primarily due to the Avs not interviewing any other candidates, but I was more unhappy with the fact that it was Tony Granato who I've just never felt gave out the head coaching vibe.

This season, it's the same story, but different. Pierre Lacroix is assuming the GM role after ousting Francois Giguere, while the head coach from last year still believes he is the head coach. And I'm guessing this wasn't a pleasant story for TG to wake up to.

A move like this can indicate a few things, not all of them being mutually exclusive:

1. Lacroix intends to retain the GM role;
2. Lacroix has already narrowed his choices for the next GM to ones he knows would be happy with Patrick behind the bench;
3. Lacroix is sending a message to whoever may be the next GM;
4. Granato is aware of the whole situation and is again a willing participant to step down as head coach;
5. Kroenke is sweating season ticket renewals, knew Lacroix hadn't decided on a GM and impatiently told him to make the move;
6. Pickles are tangy

I'm not entirely against Roy coming back as the head coach of the Avs, but I wonder again about the methodology of choosing new front office and coaching personnel without interviewing outside candidates. Promotion from within is great as a business, as long as you don't close the door to fresh mindsets.



Related Links
Report: Roy has been offered coaching job in Colorado
Your move, Patrick?
Report claims Patick Roy offered job that Granato sort of still has

Roy?

I was on campus at the University of Saskatchewan all morning convincing high school kids that technology - and teh Interweb - is awesome. Then I did a quick radio spot on CBC radio, came back to the office and delved into some internal projects. In other words, it was a productive Friday. And then a co-worker sent me an email that said "Roy?" with a link to TSN's story.

Of course, I spent about five minutes giggling to myself and saying Roy's name with a high-pitched intonation. You know, karate style.

Once that was done, I figured I should check out the article. They claim that the DP reported Patrick Roy was in town to interview with Pierre Lacroix for a position with the team. "Holy crap!", I thought to myself.

So I strolled over to the DP site and checked out Dater's story. Sure enough, he says that Roy was in town, meeting with Lacroix about a possible position with the team. And Roy himself was quoted as saying he wanted to coach, not "shuffle papers".

Should Tony Granato be worried? He's used to being demoted, right? He'll take it in stride again, I'm sure. Then again, being demoted for a junior league coach is a bit different than bringing in a long-time NHL coach like Joel Quenneville. The Avs might want to have a grief counselor - and security guard - on hand for that one.

Of course, that's if Roy was in town for an interview regarding a position with the team. Maybe he just stopped by to say "Hi". All the way from Quebec. For less than 24 hours.

Last summer, I put up a poll asking if Roy would be the right choice to coach the Avalanche. It was a non-overwhelming "Yes". Here we are again, one year later. I've put the poll up again so let's see what you have to say.


No comment
Jacques Martineau, the head of Media Relations had no comment but did confirm that Roy was in town. Why do they even have a media relations guy if he only tells us what we already know and says "No comment" to any follow-up questions?

Related Links
Intriguing...and worrisome
Roy in Denver
Avs' best move? Hire Roy.

Canadiens Retire Patrick Roy's Number Tonight

Tonight Patrick Roy joins possibly the greatest set of hockey legends when the Montreal Canadiens raise his jersey to the rafters at the Bell Centre.

As a former Canadiens fan - what can I say? I was born into a French-Canadien family - I'm looking forward to it. I'm not one of the talking heads who can't stop wondering whether he will cry or not tonight but I am curious on the reception he will receive.

We all know the less than graceful exit he made with the team but has enough time passesd to  heal the wounds?

I hope so because tonight is about Roy's legacy with the Habs and the positives have got to outweigh the negatives.

I'm anxiously awaiting Hockey Night in Canada tonight and it's been a while since I've said that.

As for the time leading up to the ceremony? Well I just bought my dad the Greatest Greatest Games in Montreal Canadiens History DVD so we might have to pop in the '86 Cup final game to see how many memories it stirs up. And then we'll finish off by watching him take out the Gretzky-led Kings in the '93 final. Nothing finer.

And I'll probably pontificate on what this jersey retirement will do the value of my two Patrick Roy rookie cards.

Videos

Patrick Roy's Last Game with Montreal

Top 10 Patrick Roy Moments (French)

Patrick Roy - Statue of Liberty (it hurts but it's part of his legacy)

I can't hear what Jeremy says...

The Wink (by far my personal favorite)

Related Links
Patrick Roy Conference Call Transcript
No. 33’s Top 10 Moments: A Look Back at Patrick Roy’s Colorful Career
Roy Takes a High Shot and Give One Back

Avalanche to Poach Coach from Red Wings?

Could the Avalanche be trying to poach from the enemy? Terry Frei thinks it's a possibility and that Todd McLellan, the Red Wings assistant coach, could be a solid fit for the vacant head coaching position for the Avalanche.

McLellan was snagged by Frei after the Wings morning skate Monday and asked if he would be interested in the Avalanche head coaching position. The response? "I would be very interested."

And the match made in heaven didn't stop there as he followed up with these romantic words: "So I'd like to coach a high-tempo, fast, puck-possession type team."

Now I'm very interested. McLellan is in charge of the Wings forwards including their powerplay so how could you not be intrigued?

Read the whole piece from Frei as it really delved deep into McLellan's past including a stint in the WHL where he set foot on the ice against our very own Joe Sakic.

EDIT: I'd love to hear from the folks who feel Tony Granato would be the best option. I'm not a big fan of Granato stepping into the head coach role - heck, he's struggled at times as an assistant - but I'm open to hearing why I might be wrong.


Related Links
Wings assistant coach could be the Avalanche's next coach
The men behind Mike Babcock

Patrick Roy to Coach the Colorado Avalanche?

The speculation began even before Quenneville was let go. With Patrick Roy having begun a coaching career, everyone wondered if Roy would ever coach the Colorado Avalanche.

Now that Quenneville is gone, the speculation starts in earnest as the two most common names being bandied about are renowned 3-time Jack Adams award winning and Stanley Cup winning coach Pat Burns along with one of the most famous - or infamous - goaltenders of all time, Patrick Roy.

But not only did St. Patrick grow infamous as a goaltender with a penchant for the dramatic and the ability to get in players heads, he has grown infamous behind the bench of the Quebec Remparts.

In his first year coaching the Remparts, Roy led the team to a Memorial Cup championship. It was only the 7th time that a rookie coach has won the Memorial Cup. I was in Quebec the day the team paraded down the streets and you could feel a sense of aura around the team and Patrick. It's an aura that seems to follow him around like a shadow.

However that aura quickly turned dark the following year as Roy was involved in two incidents which reminded everyone of his quick and fiery temper. Following a game against rival Chicoutimi, a group of Chicoutimi fans swarmed the Remparts bus. Roy got out and in the scuffle was alleged to have struck Chicoutimi co-owner Pierre Cardinal.

Roy stayed on as coach, the media firestorm subsided and the Remparts marched on to the playoffs. Then during a 10-1 beat down at the hands of Chicoutimi, a brawl broke out which saw goaltender Jonathon Roy, Patrick's son, fly down the ice and attack Chicoutimi's goaltender, who was not even close to a willing participant. Shortly after the scuffle was broken up, Jonathon flipped off the Chicoutimi crowd.

Why does this reflect poorly on Patrick? Well, it would appear he urged his son on. Watch closely after the ref initially restrains Roy and you'll see Patrick make a gesture to the effect of "Get the F down there!" The result was a 5-game suspension for the elder Roy and 7 games for junior.

Francois Giguere has gone on the record stating the next coach for the Avalanche must be willing to play a high-tempo, puck possession game. It will also need to be someone who will hold players accountable for mistakes and not be so easy-going.*

He has said nothing to the effect of wanting a hot-tempered coach that will need to be handled with kid gloves lest he destroy another office.


*That last part was stated on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada last night and I couldn't find a clip to share.

Related Links
Roy knows the way to the top
Who's next for the Avalanche
Speculation on Avs successor already under way
Roy coaches Quebec Remparts to Memorial Cup
Arena fight puts police onto Patrick Roy
Patrick Roy and son suspended for on-ice brawl
Avalanche, Quenneville mutually part ways
Patrick Roy and son (with story on Hartley office trashing)

Playoff Gameday: Avalanche @ Red Wings

UPDATE: Peter Forsberg is out. Ouch. I don't even have to expand on how much that hurts.

I'll just a do a quick link roundup for now. I haven't even read through everything let alone set aside time to write anything!

Avalanche Links
Denver Post Avalanche-Red Wings Matchup
Jose Theodore through the years
Good in goal, great goaltending runs (psst, Roy was a rookie in '86)
Goal standard for Avs goalie
Uphill battle for Avs
5 questions with Adam Foote
RMN Avalanche Report
Avalanche goalie adamant he shouldn't be likened to Patrick Roy

Red Wings Links
Wings-Colorado rivalry is back
Blood feud is getting a renewal
On the Wings Blog Series Preview
Oh, there will be blood (and maybe a hug from a lovable kitten?)