Patrick Roy is no longer a junior hockey victor with capturing a second Memorial Cup, and if I were an NHL general manager looking for a head coach, I would make it my mission to interview Roy for the position.
I would see him behind the bench of a winning team operating in a big market and Canada in particular.
That’s why the Toronto Maple Leafs come to mind first. Imagine a Saturday night game between the Canadiens and the Leafs, shown coast-to-coast, with Roy on the Leafs’ bench. It would be magical.
Whether that will happen remains to be seen. Hockey President Brendan Shanahan has just hired Brad Treliving to replace Kyle Dubas as general manager and the case of current coach Sheldon Keefe is pending.
What I do know, though, is that the Leafs haven’t learned how to win yet, and that’s Roy’s forte.
From goalie to manager, Roy has won it all, including the Jack Adams Trophy for Best NHL Coach in Colorado in 2014.
The only trophy the famous number 33 has yet to win is the Stanley Cup as head coach and I’m sure that’s his goal.
Roy has refined himself
Roy paid the price for leaving the Avalanche unconcernedly after his third season as a pilot in the summer of 2016 and he put the spokes in the wheel himself, but things have changed.
He happily restored his image by returning behind the bench at the Quebec Remparts.
The ball was in his court and now it belongs to the leaders in the entire NHL.
I take my hat off to him and he deserves another chance.
It has been refined and is in tune with 2023.
And what potential coach has a resume as extensive as Roy?
However, one reality remains in ice hockey.
A candidate’s resume, no matter how lengthy, is one thing.
The man has to fit the organization’s vision, and that’s where Roy has to sell himself in the interview.
He will also have to limit himself to the role of head coach and I think he’s ready to accept that now. It’s his place. He’s like a fish in water behind a bench.
Rangers, my second choice
In the case of the Leafs, Roy needs to show Shanahan and Treliving clearly how he will take their team to the next level; Ditto for Rangers GM Chris Drury, his former teammate who is looking to replace Gerard Gallant.
For Roy, Rangers would be my second choice. New York is an extraordinary market and there’s a team that’s ready to win but goes a little bit in all directions.
The next decisions will be decisive.
They have good veterans and good youngsters like Alexis Lafrenière, an excellent goalkeeper with Igor Shesterkin and an experienced goalkeeping coach, Benoît Allaire, François’ brother who advised Roy for a long time.
The senators, my third choice
There are basically no open positions in Ottawa, but with the team’s upcoming sale, you never know. The Senators are making progress but are not yet at the level of the Leafs or the Rangers.
Roy could do development work there and over the years there would be a real rivalry between the Sens and the Canadians.
A Sens win over the Habs in the playoffs, with Roy on the bench, would set the mood, like the Nordiques’ triumph in 1982.
Certainly I would much rather see Roy in a big hockey market than in a city like Columbus or Anaheim.
– Interview by Gilles Moffet
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FOUR MEMORIAL CUPS
I have to congratulate not only the Quebec Remparts on winning the Memorial Cup, but the entire league as this marks the fourth straight Memorial Cup to be won by a QMJHL- Team won was dogs. To say that between 1972 and 1996 we went almost 25 years without a win. It’s really encouraging to see and we’re hoping to add a fifth next year.
CAUFIELD UNDER CONTRACT
No one was surprised to learn that Cole Caufield had signed an eight-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens for a few bucks less than Nick Suzuki. Caufield and his agent could have balked and lengthened the gravy, but that’s okay. Caufield is happy in Montreal and everyone is happy. Fans will be treated to a spectacular Caufield-Suzuki duo for years to come. It’s similar to the situation youngsters Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane had with the Chicago Blackhawks back then.
FUNNY END
I repeat it often. Winning a streak in four games is a poisoned gift. It’s good to have days off, but 11 days is a long time and it’s easier to lose focus in Florida. That’s exactly what happens with the Panthers in the series finale against the Golden Knights. It’s not over yet. The 7-2 thaw could be a blessing. You couldn’t ask for a better wake-up call, even if Paul Maurice’s side feel the urgency of the situation at 2-0 in the series. In the previous two Magic series, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky struggles to get back on his feet, and the Knights don’t make life easy for him. At the other end of the rink, Adin Hill continues his good work. Who knew Hill would be so close to winning the Stanley Cup? Former Remparts Jonathan Marchessault at the wheel of the Conn-Smythe Trophy.
