Roy meets with Avalanche president

SeawaySensFan wrote:The same Quenneville they just canned?

Here's the truth: Roy will be hired as coach. Then a new GM will be hired with the knowledge that he only holds the title of GM and that the real GM, as always, is Pete Lacroix.

They shouldn't have canned him in the first place. That bridge has been burned and Quenneville is happy in Chicago, but they need someone with experience to turn the franchise around. Some of the pieces are already in place - with a real goalie they could start to be fun to watch quickly.

504Heater wrote:

wprager wrote:They've got no GM. When a new GM comes in, is there any way he keeps Granato? A new GM will want his own pick, and who's to say he'll be OK with a (potential) head case like St. Patrick? I know if *I* was the GM I certainly would not want a franchise hero with no NHL coaching experience to be the head guy.

The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that it would be a huge mistake to interview Roy for the HC position, unless they already have a guy and he's on board with Roy.

The other possibility, of course, is that he was there for the GM's position, or some other management role.

I agree 100%. The first thing I'd do as the new GM is to dismiss the Roy as HC talk. Forget it, this is a young team that needs a Joel Quennville type of coach. Not Hartley, but Quinn, someone like that. Not someone who has zero experience as an NHL head coach. No way.

If you go back and read the previous posts, you'll see that former Av Craig Billington has been mentioned as having the inside track on the GM job.

Secondly, Roy is extremely popular in Denver with the fan base, and can leverage his relationships with Avs stars past and present, including Joe Sakic and Adam Foote.

Bob Hartley has already been mentioned as a possible member of the coaching staff that Roy would be putting together.

Ray Bourque has been mentioned as ready to step into the coaching job in Quebec should Roy move to Colorado.

davetherave wrote:
If you go back and read the previous posts, you'll see that former Av Craig Billington has been mentioned as having the inside track on the GM job.

Secondly, Roy is extremely popular in Denver with the fan base, and can leverage his relationships with Avs stars past and present, including Joe Sakic and Adam Foote.

Bob Hartley has already been mentioned as a possible member of the coaching staff that Roy would be putting together.

Ray Bourque has been mentioned as ready to step into the coaching job in Quebec should Roy move to Colorado.

They can hire Curious George as their HC for all I care, but this is a very delicate time for the Avs. They need someone who can handle the job and coach the kids. These guys might be able to, but I'd rather hire someone with a track record in the NHL. But again, they can do what they want of course.

504Heater wrote:

davetherave wrote:
If you go back and read the previous posts, you'll see that former Av Craig Billington has been mentioned as having the inside track on the GM job.

Secondly, Roy is extremely popular in Denver with the fan base, and can leverage his relationships with Avs stars past and present, including Joe Sakic and Adam Foote.

Bob Hartley has already been mentioned as a possible member of the coaching staff that Roy would be putting together.

Ray Bourque has been mentioned as ready to step into the coaching job in Quebec should Roy move to Colorado.

They can hire Curious George as their HC for all I care, but this is a very delicate time for the Avs. They need someone who can handle the job and coach the kids. These guys might be able to, but I'd rather hire someone with a track record in the NHL. But again, they can do what they want of course.

Well, I understand Curious George already has a job in the PR Department at Research In Motion.



And you think Patrick Roy, multiple Stanley Cup Champion and Conn Smythe winner as a player, and Memorial Cup winner as coach, is less qualified than Bylsma, Clouston or Boudreau were/are for their jobs?

Care to tell us why?

You don't remember that Roy is a living legend for the Avalanche players and fans?

You don't remember that Bob Hartley is also a Stanley Cup Champion coach?

Or maybe you just don't like Patrick Roy...

And in case you're wondering, it matters little to me who the Avs hire.

But let's separate fact from your evident bias.

It's really just my opinion. Roy is a hot-head who's coaching record is good at a junior level, but how is he separated from Clouston, Boudreau and Bylsma? They all coached their affiliates' AHL teams before they were given a job as a HC in the NHL. Again, to me this is a delicate situation. You'll have Duchene, Statsny, Wolski etc. to coach - and they have to be coached with precision and care. Is that Patrick Roy? Perhaps, but at this juncture if I was GM, I'd offer him an associate coach role and see how things went under Pat Quinn.

To me, paying your dues means coaching at the QMJ level, then moving on up to the AHL, then finally - if you're a good enough coach - you get handed the reigns to an NHL team. I would be very nervous if I was a fan of the Avs.

504Heater wrote:It's really just my opinion. Roy is a hot-head who's coaching record is good at a junior level, but how is he separated from Clouston, Boudreau and Bylsma? They all coached their affiliates' AHL teams before they were given a job as a HC in the NHL. Again, to me this is a delicate situation. You'll have Duchene, Statsny, Wolski etc. to coach - and they have to be coached with precision and care. Is that Patrick Roy? Perhaps, but at this juncture if I was GM, I'd offer him an associate coach role and see how things went under Pat Quinn.

To me, paying your dues means coaching at the QMJ level, then moving on up to the AHL, then finally - if you're a good enough coach - you get handed the reigns to an NHL team. I would be very nervous if I was a fan of the Avs.

Exactly.

It's a leap from the Q to the bigs.

Has he demonstrated that he can hold the attention and respect of the 10-yr vet with a ring or two, who isn't in awe of his "former NHL superstar" status, and just wants someone who can coach their way out of a jam?

504Heater wrote:It's really just my opinion. Roy is a hot-head who's coaching record is good at a junior level, but how is he separated from Clouston, Boudreau and Bylsma? They all coached their affiliates' AHL teams before they were given a job as a HC in the NHL. Again, to me this is a delicate situation. You'll have Duchene, Statsny, Wolski etc. to coach - and they have to be coached with precision and care. Is that Patrick Roy? Perhaps, but at this juncture if I was GM, I'd offer him an associate coach role and see how things went under Pat Quinn.

To me, paying your dues means coaching at the QMJ level, then moving on up to the AHL, then finally - if you're a good enough coach - you get handed the reigns to an NHL team. I would be very nervous if I was a fan of the Avs.

Fair enough.

But Peter DeBoer made the leap from Junior to the Panthers, didn't he?

And Avs fans--if one accepts as evidence the poll by the Denver Post in which fans gave Roy an overwhelming vote of approval--are far from nervous.

So why should you be?

But after all is said, Patrick Roy hasn't been hired yet. And he says he hasn't been offered the job.

Roy would help Avs: ex-teammate

The Canadian Press, May 19, 2009 at 4:19 PM EDT

RIMOUSKI, Que. — Count ex-teammate Warren Rychel as one who thinks Patrick Roy would make an excellent NHL coach.

Rychel, now general manager and co-owner of the OHL's Windsor Spitfires, said Tuesday that Roy's fiery nature and will to win could help make the Colorado Avalanche a league power again.

“He has a lot of passion for life and passion for the game — it's all about heart with him,” said Rychel, Roy's teammate with the Avalanche in the 1990s. “I think he'd be an excellent leader.

“He'd command respect right away. His refusal to lose is the biggest thing he'll instill in his players. He doesn't like to lose.”

Roy, the Hall of Fame goaltender who is co-owner, general manager and coach of the junior Quebec Remparts, was expected to arrive at the MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament on Tuesday night when Rychel's struggling Spitfires were scheduled to face the Kelowna Rockets.

On Monday, Roy denied a report in the Denver Post quoting NHL sources that he has been offered Tony Granato's job as head coach of the Avalanche.

Roy met with Colorado president Pierre Lacroix on May 7 in Denver. He admitted they talked about “my future” but added “that's about it for now.”

Roy's No. 33 has been retired by both the Montreal Canadiens, with whom he won Stanley Cups in 1986 and 1993, and the Avalanche, whom he led to Cups in 1996 and 2001.

The Quebec City native retired from the NHL in 2003 and took over as coach of the Remparts in 2005, leading them to a Memorial Cup in his first season.

His return to Quebec City has been marked by controversy. Last season, he was suspended five games and fined $4,000 after his son Jonathan attacked opposing goalie Bobby Nadeau of Chicoutimi during a playoff game.

Rychel said Roy's temperament could be an asset as an NHL coach.

“I love it,” said Rychel, a tough forward who played for Colorado in 1995-96 and again from 1997 until he retired in 1999. “That's just showing his passion and will to win.

“He got his fine and he moved on. He's intense and he'd be really good.”

Rychel added that Roy could restore a sense of pride to the Avalanche, who finished last in the Western Conference last season.

But Roy has much to consider.

As much as he would likely relish the challenge of coaching in the NHL, leaving Quebec would be a major blow to the Remparts.

Under Roy, the team's attendance has doubled to nearly 12,000 per game. He is also a hands-on coach and administrator who is involved in nearly every decision affecting the team.

In Quebec City, there is speculation that Ray Bourque's son Ryan may not join the Remparts, who drafted him last year, if Roy is not there.

Roy: Lacroix contacted me
The former Avalanche star tells a radio station the Avs president called him during the season.

Adrian Dater, The Denver Post 05/21/2009

Avalanche president Pierre Lacroix first reached out to Patrick Roy in the middle of last season to gauge his interest in a future with the team, Roy said Wednesday in an interview with a Toronto radio station.

"I received a phone call from Pierre Lacroix during the season, I think it was January, and he asked if I had some interest in talking with him at the end of the season," the former Avalanche goaltender and Hall of Famer said. "I said, 'Yeah, I'd be open to talk.' "

Roy, the co-owner, general manager and coach of major-junior hockey's Quebec Remparts, met with Lacroix in Denver this month.

"He called me the day after we got beat by Shawinigan (in the QMJHL playoffs) and said, 'Would you like to come in town and talk to me and see what's going on in your future?' I said, 'Fine, it would be a pleasure for me to go there.' "

The question of whether Roy will take a job with the Avs as their next head coach, and possibly with an additional management position, has become one of the hot topics in hockey.

While Roy maintains he does not have a "formal" offer from the Avalanche, he seemed to indicate a job with the team is his if he wants it.

"(Lacroix) wanted to know what was my intention and what was my future, and a big part about my decision is not whether I'm able to coach in the NHL or able to step up and test that challenge," Roy told Toronto's AM 640.

The bigger issue, Roy said, has to do with his family. His oldest son, Jonathan, recently abandoned his hockey pursuit to try his hand as a professional singer.

Younger son Frederick wants to go to college in Los Angeles. Roy's other child, Jana, lives primarily with his former wife, Michele.

Until last season, Jonathan and Frederick played for their father with the Remparts, but that is no longer the case.

"Maybe it's something I want to do, but is it the right timing?" Roy said. "This is what I have to think all about. I've had a lot of fun working at the junior level, but now it's six years and you always question yourself. Can I do it better? Can I do it at the big level? I'm not saying I want to do it — but I have to think about it.

"I always have the choice; I'm extremely happy where I am right now. I'm working with young players and we have unbelievable support from our fans. It's all things like this you've got to consider before making your decision, saying, 'I want to give a shot at it.' I'm not there yet, to be honest with you."

Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com

"His oldest son, Jonathan, recently abandoned his hockey pursuit to try his hand as a professional singer. "

Now there's a kid who has a serious sense of focus and direction.
Good thing he's got daddy's support.