Patrick Roy will be able to add some ink marks to his already busy track record as head coach after being offered the chance to return behind an NHL bench with the New York Islanders on Saturday afternoon.
Roy will return to the helm of a National League team, after being the man for the Colorado Avalanche between 2013 and 2016, and he will become the 19e head coach in Islanders history.
Debuts in the QMJHL
Roy’s management career began in 2003-2004, with the Quebec Remparts in the QMJHL. Recently retired from his career as a goalie and owner of the Remparts for six seasons already, Roy becomes vice-president of hockey operations and general manager of the team.
Then in 2005-2006, Roy added the hat of head coach to his wide range of functions. That season, he led the Remparts to a 52-16-2 record in 70 games and Quebec finished second in the circuit.
The playoff run of Roy’s men ended in the playoff final, when they were defeated by the Moncton Wildcats in six games. Roy and the Remparts, however, would have their revenge a short time later, on May 28, 2006, when they would have the last word on the Wildcats to lift the Memorial Cup.
Roy’s first stint behind the Remparts bench ended after the 2012-2013 season, when he left the team to take on a new challenge with the Avalanche in the NHL. In 545 games at the helm of the Remparts between 2005 and 2013, Roy led his team to an overall record of 349-159-37.
A first chance in the NHL
It was ultimately the Avalanche that offered Roy his first chance in the NHL. On May 23, 2013, Colorado general manager Joe Sakic announced the hiring of his former teammate as head coach and vice president of hockey operations.
His debut behind the bench will be significant. The man with 551 NHL victories as a goalie quickly found himself at the heart of a quarrel with Bruce Boudreau, then coach of the Anaheim Ducks, and he came close to breaking the bay window that separates the two benches. Roy was ultimately fined $10,000 by the NHL.
Roy’s first season in the Bettman circuit as head coach will ultimately be punctuated with success. He helped the team post a 52-22-8 record to finish second in the Western Conference, just a year after the Avalanche went 16-25-7.
Colorado returned to the playoffs after a three-year absence and Roy won the Jack Adams Trophy in 2014, awarded to the head coach of the year. The team would eventually be eliminated in seven games in the first round of the playoffs against the Minnesota Wild.
Roy left the Avalanche organization on August 11, 2016 after three seasons, citing “differences between his vision and that of the organization” as well as a role that no longer suited him in decision-making. Roy’s path with the Avalanche comes to an end after two exclusions from the playoffs in three seasons as well as a record of 130-92-24.
A return to Quebec
After two years away from the hockey benches, Roy returned to his roots in 2018, when he was hired by the Remparts in the roles of head coach and general manager.
The first two seasons of his return are more difficult. For the first time in his head coaching career, Roy has to settle for a record below .500 – on two occasions in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. However, everything came together for the team and the Remparts became a power in the QMJHL for the next three years.
Roy crowns this second stint of five seasons in Quebec by leading his team to the Gilles-Courteau Trophy as well as the Memorial Cup, Roy’s second. In June 2023, Roy announced that he was leaving the team, jointly with Jacques Tanguay.
“I find there is no better time for me to come full circle. In life, you have to know how to leave at the right time and today I leave my position with the feeling of duty accomplished,” explains Roy.
Ultimately in two stints with the Remparts, Roy maintained a record of 524-255-66 in 845 games.
