Roy makes first visit to Montreal as Avs coach
MONTREAL — Patrick Roy stepped onto Bell Centre ice Monday near noon and turned a few slow laps without looking up into the arena rafters for his No. 33 banner, a bleu-blanc-rouge celebration of the 2008 retirement of his Canadiens jersey.
“I forgot. See how focused I am for the game?” Roy said with a laugh 90 minutes later, after the practice of his Colorado Avalanche.
But that didn’t mean the Hall of Fame goaltender and quite terrific NHL rookie head coach hadn’t stolen a glance a little earlier.
“Just to make sure it’s still there,” he said jokingly. “No dust on it, (to) make sure they clean it. It’s perfect.
“They do such a great job here. This (Canadiens) organization has a lot of class.”
So much water has flowed beneath the Canadiens bridge for Roy, one of the greatest goaltenders of all time and the backstop of the Habs’ 1986 and ’93 Stanley Cup victories.
There was his bitter 1995 departure, humiliated by coach Mario Tremblay when he was left in for nine goals on home ice against Detroit, followed by seasons of silent divide while he wont wo more cups for Colorado.
Then, a reconciliation 5½ years ago, his jersey retirement a few months later and, last, his participation in the Canadiens’ emotional centennial-game festivities on Dec. 4, 2009.
On Tuesday night, Roy will shuffle across Bell Centre ice to the Colorado bench, his first game in Montreal as an NHL coach.
“I think it’s going to be great. I expect it to be great,” Roy told an overflow news conference.
Colorado is nicely placed as the season heads toward the home stretch, second in the Central Division. The team is playing a system that was designed for the players, Roy said, not vice versa, the club built on a relationship of trust, respect and partnership.
“(Players) can count on us,” Roy said of himself and his coaching staff. “Fortunately for me, it didn’t take too long to have an opportunity to show that I was with them.”
He began to laugh again, having alluded to his first game as an NHL head coach. It was Oct. 2, at home to Anaheim, that he went berserk in the direction of Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, shaking and nearly toppling a glass partition dividing the benches.
In what might have been a splendidly calculated show to his team of “I’ve got your backs,” Roy was fined $10,000 by the NHL.
What it really was? A $10,000 investment in building his club. They’ve been skating through walls for him ever since.
“I don’t remember what happened that game,” Roy said, grinning.
“I just need to look at my paycheque to see it.”