Roy glad he didn’t rush into Avs job

Four years ago, the Colorado Avalanche asked Patrick Roy to come on board as coach. The Hall of Fame goalie just wasn’t ready.

This time, the deal was sweetened — a chance to coach and have a say in hockey-related decisions.

He couldn’t pass up this chance, agreeing to a four-year deal with a mutual option for a fifth season.

“I was afraid in 2009 that maybe I missed one of best opportunities of my life,” Roy said at his introductory news conference Tuesday. “Here I am in 2013, same opportunity. I truly feel that sometimes the biggest mistake we’re making as a coach is you want to go too fast.”

The fiery goaltender has mellowed since his retirement a decade ago. Well, as much as he can anyway.

Roy has been serving as coach and general manager for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League over the last eight seasons, which he says has prepared him for taking over as a first-year NHL coach. But there’s this hanging over his head: the stigma that great players don’t make great coaches.

“I’m not nervous about that,” said Roy, who won the Memorial Cup title with the Remparts in 2006 and finished with a 348-196 mark. “To be honest with you, I checked one interesting stat: 100% of the coaches who are coaching now in the NHL were rookies at one time in their careers.

“My No. 1 quality is that I’m not afraid to put in the time.”

Around the rinks

The St. Louis Blues signed defenseman Ian Cole to a two-year extension and right wing Adam Cracknell to a one-year deal. ... The Columbus Blue Jackets signed goaltender Anton Forsberg, their seventh-round pick in the 2011 draft, to an entry-level deal.