Former Colorado Avalanche coach and Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy was on hand Thursday for a ceremonial puck drop in Quebec City before a World Cup exhibition game. Talking with the media between periods, he discussed the circumstances surrounding his sudden departure in Colorado.
He left the team on Aug. 11, resigning because of reported differences of opinion on player personnel and the overall direction of the team. ESPN’s Craig Custance tweeted that Roy says “he really wanted to be sure he was making the right call. Didn’t feel like it hurt Avs.”
Mark Spector quoted Roy saying, “You can find a new NHL coach in two days.” It seems a bit flippant since Roy’s late decision took a lot of options off the table for Colorado and no doubt changed the focus of the front office staff from where they thought they would be in August.
Roy also addressed speculation that Colorado’s decision to not go after Alexander Radulov was the final straw. “We had conversations over Radulov,” Roy said, noting that they talked about a lot of players and that he respects the opinion of GM Joe Sakic. “Would I love to see Radulov play for the Avalanche? Yes, because I think Radulov is a really good player, a special player.”
One of the more interesting footnotes to the conversation was that any team who wants to hire Roy will have to go through Colorado, despite the fact that Roy resigned. He’s still technically under contract for another year. It’s not clear whether or not that means the team is still paying him.
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The Colorado Avalanche named former Cleveland Monsters coach Jared Bednar their new head coach on Aug. 25.