Is Pierre Dorion’s retirement from the Ottawa Senators good news for Patrick Roy, who wants another chance in the National Hockey League? The answer is yes and no.
• Also read: Senators: Pierre Dorion resigns
Yes, because every time a position opens up in the NHL, it’s another opportunity for Roy to return to the league he left in 2016 after three seasons on the bench. “Colorado Avalanche.” In the current context in which he is no longer active in the world of hockey, there is nothing better than seeing his name quickly return to the rumor mill so that he is not forgotten.
In any case, it’s nothing new: Roy’s name has been associated with the Senators for a long time. He was notably involved in the hiring process for a new head coach in 2019 – we’ll come back to that – but the team’s new owner, Michael Andlaeur, likes him a lot.
Brother Jonathan Bernier revealed in June, when Andlaeur bought the Senators, that the latter were “certainly interested in Patrick Roy leading his team.”
The two men had met when the Canadian, of which Andlaeur was a minority shareholder, was looking for a replacement for Marc Bergevin as the team’s general manager.
“He’s a nice guy,” Patrick Roy said during the press conference announcing his departure from the Quebec Remparts on June 13. Will he call me? [pour un poste]? No idea.”
Dorion, a supporter of Roy
Now the “no”.
No, because Dorion could have been an ally for Patrick Roy. It was learned through the outlets that the former Senators general manager was very impressed with Roy’s work at the last Memorial Cup.
The way Roy and his coaching staff prepared their team for the final Memorial Cup game against the Seattle Thunderbirds did not go unnoticed by the former Senators general manager.
The Remparts had defeated Seattle in the round-robin without being convincing, and then in the final they had completely dominated those who were considered the favorites of the competition. Quebec secured the Memorial Cup with a 5-0 victory and Roy then pocketed Thunderbirds’ Matt O’Dette.
Patrick Roy, all smiles, a few seconds before the Quebec Remparts won the Memorial Cup on June 4th. DIDIER DEBUSSCHERE/JOURNAL DE QUÉBEC
It is worth remembering that Dorion already highly valued Patrick Roy, whom he included in his list of candidates for the position of head coach of his team in 2019. Ultimately, it was DJ Smith who got the job he still holds to this day.
“Today is about DJ, but the one thing I can tell you about Patrick is that the interview was exceptional,” Dorion said after confirming Smith’s hire.
Will Smith stay?
In addition, Steve Staios, who will temporarily fill Dorion’s role, gave Smith a very tentative vote of confidence at a press conference
“The players respect DJ, they work hard and have never cheated. You’ll be prepared when the games arrive. If you asked DJ and I if there is room for improvement, the answer would be yes and DJ would say the same. I am confident that this group will continue to move in the right direction,” he said in response to a question about the future of the rest of the team’s hockey staff following the retirement of Pierre Dorion.
Photo Martin Chevalier
But before they decide whether to keep or fire Smith, the Senators will be looking for a general manager, a position that Roy could and wants to fill, he has never hidden it.
If he is not the one the team turns to as Dorion’s successor, Roy will have to hope that the chosen candidate is open to his candidacy or that Michael Andlaeur finds convincing words for him.
Because one fact remains: Despite all the positive things that the people who worked with him on the Remparts from 2018 to 2023 have said about him, he still seems to scare several organizations around the NHL.