New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy will make his return to Denver on Monday night in what will be his first time coaching against his former team, the Colorado Avalanche, and he has mixed feelings ahead of the reunion.
"A lot of good memories," Roy said, per The Denver Gazette's Evan Rawal. "That's the way I want to look at it."
The Hall of Fame goaltender spent eight seasons as a player with the Avalanche, during which time he won two of his four Stanley Cups and one of his three Conn Smythe Trophies. He also had a dual role as head coach and vice president of hockey operations for three seasons from 2013-16.
Roy's departure from the team in 2016 was tumultuous, and he admits he has regrets about how things ended.
"I wish I would have done things different at the time," he said. "I think I didn't have enough respect for the position of coaching."
Roy abruptly resigned from his post in August 2016, roughly six weeks before the start of training camp, citing a lack of input in personnel decisions. Joe Sakic - Colorado's general manager at the time - eventually tabbed Jared Bednar as Roy's replacement behind the bench.
During an interview in 2023, Roy admitted that a dual coaching/front office role is not feasible in the modern NHL.
Roy won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's coach of the year in his first season behind the bench in 2013-14. He guided the Avalanche to a 112-point campaign a year after they had finished with the second-worst record in the league. Colorado missed the playoffs in each of the next two seasons under Roy.
Roy did leave a lasting impact on the organization, though, as he claims he had significant input in the decision to draft Nathan MacKinnon first overall in 2013.
"We would not have drafted MacKinnon if I wasn't there," Roy said. "I'm proud to see how Mac has been playing for them."
Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Drouin, and Seth Jones were among the other considerations for the top pick in 2013.
The Islanders hired Roy as their head coach midway through the 2023-24 season. He led the club to a 20-12-5 record and a postseason appearance. The Isles are 0-1-1 to start the new campaign.
