Could former Avalanche goalie Patrick Roy succeed Joel Quenneville as the Avs’ next head coach?
With the Avs, anything is possible. Roy on Friday told the French-Canadian sports television network RDS that he was surprised the Avs suddenly had a coaching vacancy, and reacted to speculation he could return to Colorado to begin an NHL coaching career.
Roy, who retired in 2003 with the Avs, has coached the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League since then. Speculation has begun that he might be ready to return to the NHL with a spot behind the Avs’ bench.
“Am I interested? Right now, I am very happy in Quebec with the Remparts. I really haven’t thought about one day making the move to the NHL. Right now this is only a rumor or speculation,” Roy told RDS.
But Roy seemed to leave a little wiggle room that he might be interested.
“We’ll see what’s going to happen. Francois Giguere will certainly have a list of candidates that he would like to meet,” Roy said.
Roy, the NHL’s all-time wins leader and a Hall of Famer, has had a successful coaching career with the Remparts. His team was 51-14-1-1 in his first season, 2005-06, and won the Memorial Cup. The last couple of seasons have seen some controversy, however, including an incident in the last QMJHL playoffs when his son, Jonathan, was suspended for a fight. Patrick Roy was also suspended for his role in the melee, and he has had a handful of other contentious moments with fans and opposing coaches.
Roy’s other son, Frederick, also plays for the Remparts, so being away from his sons in such a formative stage of their careers could be an issue.
Roy had praise for Quenneville, saying, “I thought Coach Q would be in Denver for many more years to come.”
