On Patrick Roy, Joe Sakic and the Colorado Avalanche …
Mike Chambers of the Denver Post: Avs GM Joe Sakic yesterday after Patrick Roy resigned as their head coach and VP of Hockey Operations.
“It definitely caught me off guard,” Sakic said of Roy’s resignation phone call Thursday morning. “We had a good conversation today I was surprised, but I also thanked Patrick for his three years and letting me know now. It would be a lot harder if he came to training camp and his mind-set wasn’t fresh and ready to go. He was at that point of letting me know. I respect that decision, and I support him.”
Nicholas Cotsonika of NHL.com: Sakic on Roy.
“I told him, ‘Are you sure you don’t want to wait a day or a weekend to think about it some more?'” Sakic said. “And he said he was very comfortable with this decision. He’s thought about it for three or four weeks. He came to this conclusion, and he was ready for it.”
Yes, as Sakic said: “It would be a lot harder if he came to training camp with a mindset that wasn’t fresh and ready to go.”
Roy’s statement from yesterday sounded like he didn’t agree on some things with Sakic. After re-signing Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Barrie, the Avs don’t have a lot of salary cap space, and they didn’t make any major moves this offseason.
Sakic said that Roy consulted on everything, especially during the offseason.
Colorado Avalanche: Sakic: “We’re going to try and find the right coach to move us forward.”
Colorado Avalanche: Sakic on hiring a new head coach: “No timetable. We would obviously like to have one in before training camp.”
Colorado Avalanche: Sakic on Roy: “He was always involved. He was aware of all the decisions that we were making…We talked about everything.”
Pierre LeBrun: Roy said there is no back story, that it’s just time to move on and that people shouldn’t read into anything more than what was said in his statement.
John Shannon: Roy and Sakic have not been on the same page for a while. There was a time during free agency when they even talking to each other.
Mike Chambers: From Roy’s statement, he might have been referring to his diminished role in the draft as the Avs didn’t draft anyone from the QMJHL and went heavy with the NCAA.
Frank Seravalli: Roy’s resignation is not that surprising as there has been a long-rumored discord between Roy and Avs.
Eric Francis: Would think that one of the most obvious frontrunners for the now vacant head coaching position would be former Avs coach Bob Hartley.
Adrian Dater: Don’t think the Avs would bring back Bob Hartley.
Jim Matheson: Think that Hartley would have a good chance of returning to the Avs.