The Colorado Avalanche have been one of the worst teams in the NHL over the past few years and the franchise is looking to turn things around with the help of two legends, bringing in Patrick Roy as the new coach and giving former center Joe Sakic more say in the front office.
According to ESPN.com, Roy was hired as the new head coach last week and he also will be the vice president of hockey operations, and joins his former teammate Sakic, who is the vice president of hockey operations. The two have been successful as players in the NHL for the Colorado franchise, winning two Stanley Cups during their playing years and after spending time as coach and general manager of the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Roy is moving to the NHL.
The team has the number one selection in the NHL draft and now with Roy back in the fold, Colorado is a legitimate relevant franchise and will likely start improving right away. The team finished last in the Western conference and missed the playoffs for the third straight year, but after ditching coach Joe Sacco and bringing in Roy, things are starting to turn around for the franchise. Roy will be the sixth coach since the team moves to Colorado and the 14th all-time in the franchise from when they were the Quebec Nordiques before moving to Denver. The team won two Cups with Roy in net and he came over originally in a trade with Montreal.
Roy has no coaching experience in the NHL, but he did win the 2006 Memorial Cup with the Quebec Remparts and he has front office hockey experience. The 47-year-old takes over a team of young stars and talented players and the franchise should be able to add another young star in the upcoming draft. The Avalanche have been turning things around since the season ended, with team president Josh Kroenke getting promoted to take over for longtime executive Pierre Lacroix. The team won Stanley Cups in 1996 and 2001, but hasn't been back since.
Kroenke made the decision to give Sakic more responsibility and he also decided to allow him to help find the next coach, which ended up being his old teammate in Roy. Sakic will help build the roster and make every day hockey decisions and Roy will also have a say in personnel. Roy is a Hall of Fame goalie and he retired with the most wins by a goalie before being passed by Devils netminder Martin Brodeur. Roy won the Vezina three times and won two Stanley Cups with Montreal before coming to the Avs.
"This is an unbelievable day for me," Roy said. "It's a new and exciting challenge that I am really looking forward to. Almost 10 years to the day that I announced my retirement as a player I am back in Denver and hope the fans are as excited as I am."