The Avalanche are about to begin an extended vacation, and that doesn't sit well with head coach Patrick Roy. But he plans to be back at work in Colorado next year, even though his team's trended down for a second straight season.
Roy's Avalanche had a remarkable 112 points in his first season behind the bench, before losing a seven-game series to the Minnesota Wild in the first round. They had 90 points last season, missing the playoffs. They'll finish with 84, at most, this season. Considering the club's dropped five in a row to close out its schedule, 82 is more likely. But the fire still burns in Roy.
"Yeah, I do," Roy said when asked if he still wants to be behind the Avalanche bench next season, according to The Denver Post's Terry Frei. "Has this year been a tougher year that I expected? Yes. I thought that we were going to make the playoffs. Obviously, we did not have a good start for many reasons. But to answer your question, I do.
"I guess my 10 years in junior taught me a lot. As long as there's respect and I feel our players are playing hard. ... Are they playing well every night? No. But I feel that they're playing hard for me and I appreciate that. And they're very receptive."
Roy made headlines last week after he called out Matt Duchene for an over-the-top celebration in a blowout loss after the forward hit the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career. He went even further, criticizing the leadership of his core players, outside of captain Gabriel Landeskog. Roy's a passionate coach, much like he was as a player.
Now 50, Roy said he loves working with general manager Joe Sakic, and acknowledges that success in his first year as head coach hurt, in a way.
"Sometimes you want to go fast track, but that would be the wrong thing to do," Roy said. "The problem is we got 112 points the first year and that's where everybody thought we made the turn. But let's not forget that the year before, we were second-to-last overall. There's a reality between that year and what's going on."
Roy's thinking long term. With young players like Duchene, Landeskog, and Nathan MacKinnon in the fold, the future still looks bright in Denver.
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