The announcement of his hiring as head coach by the New York Islanders on Saturday constitutes the latest feat of arms in Patrick Roy’s fruitful and eventful career behind a bench. A look back in five dates at the journey of an extraordinary hockey man.
September 29, 2005
Dissatisfied with the performance of the Quebec Remparts, of which he became co-owner and general manager after his retirement, Patrick Roy fired the team’s coach, Éric Lavigne, to appoint himself to the position. ” For sure [que je n’ai pas d’expérience], he agreed. But it is also certain that arriving at this time of the season will allow me to familiarize myself. » As in fact, the Remparts won the Memorial Cup that same season, the second in their history, and Patrick Roy thus became the 7e rookie coach in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to accomplish this feat.
March 22, 2008
During a general brawl on the sidelines of a match between the Chicoutimi Saguenéens and the Remparts, the son of Patrick Roy and goalkeeper of the team coached by his father, Jonathan Roy, violently attacked the opposing goalkeeper, Bobby Nadeau. Suspected of having encouraged him to take action, Patrick Roy was suspended for five matches while his son received a seven-match suspension. The affair triggered a scandal across Quebec, with the Prime Minister at the time, Jean Charest, calling on the QMJHL to seriously reflect on violence on the ice rink. “I regret not having better controlled the situation that Jonathan experienced,” Patrick Roy later declared.
May 23, 2013
About ten years after announcing his retirement, Patrick Roy returned to Denver, this time as head coach and vice president of hockey operations for the Colorado Avalanche. The team then goes through a difficult period and must speak first in the next draft. From his first match behind the bench, Patrick Roy lived up to his reputation as he exchanged insults with the opposing coach, Bruce Boudreau, even going so far as to violently bang on the plexiglass separating them at the end of the game. Patrick Roy will win the Jack Adams Trophy, awarded to the NHL coach of the year, at the end of this first season where he leads the team to the playoffs.
August 11, 2016
After three seasons as coach of the Avalanche, Patrick Roy created a surprise by announcing his resignation even before the start of the season and the end of his contract. The press release issued on this occasion cites philosophical differences between Roy and his former teammate and general manager of the team, Joe Sakic. The Quebecer subsequently declared that the coach “must be able to participate in decisions that have an impact on the ice” which, according to him, was not the case in his situation. After a brief retirement, he will return to his position as coach for the Quebec Remparts in 2018.
June 13, 2023
A few days after winning his second Memorial Cup and the Gilles-Courteau Trophy at the head of the Remparts, Patrick Roy officially bids farewell to the team, at the same time as team president Jacques Tanguay. The rumor machine then sent Roy to Ottawa, behind the bench of the Senators, while a new owner, Michael Andlauer, had just bought the team. “Absolutely none,” he said, however, when asked if he had had contact with NHL teams for a head coaching position.