Patrick Roy is considered by many to be the best goaltender in NHL history and is revered in Colorado for backstopping two of the franchise’s three Stanley Cup titles.
But the last memory he has with the organization isn’t pleasant. Roy coached the Avalanche for three seasons before abruptly resigning a month before the start of training camp in 2016, citing a lack of continuity with the front office for stepping away.
He returns to Denver on Monday night when he leads the New York Islanders against Colorado.
Roy took over the Avalanche before the 2013-14 season and led them to a revival, from a team that won 16 games in a lockout-shortened season a year before to 52 wins and a playoff appearance.
His Colorado teams didn’t reach the postseason the next two seasons and Roy made his decision to leave, which left his future as an NHL coach in doubt.
New York gave him a second chance last year after dismissing Lane Lambert midseason.
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to be back in the game,” Roy told the New York Post. “When I made my decision to resign in Colorado, I kind of knew about that, that that might be a possibility. But I guess my thoughts — I never thought it would be that long.”
His Islanders have dropped their first two games but earned a point in an overtime loss to Utah on opening night. They are coming off a 3-0 loss Saturday at the Dallas Stars that began a three-game road trip.
New York faces a Colorado team that could use some of Roy’s talent at goaltender. The Avalanche have allowed 14 goals in their first two games, including two empty-netters, and are 0-2-0 to start this season. Alexandar Georgiev has let in eight of those goals in a shaky beginning to the last year of his contract.
Head coach Jared Bednar, who was hired right after Roy resigned, has said Georgiev is his No. 1 goaltender but acknowledges the rough start.
“He’s our starter. I have full faith that he has the ability, the talent, the work ethic to bounce back and win us hockey games,” Bednar said of Georgiev. “It’s a mental game right now. So, we’ll regroup, and we have other areas of our game, too, that have to be better.”
The Avalanche have shown plenty of offense in their first two games, scoring four goals in each loss. Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar each have four points to begin the season, but MacKinnon’s frustration was apparent Saturday night when he was assessed a game misconduct after an empty-net goal and smashed his stick before leaving the ice.
“Game’s over, and he let it out,” Bednar said.
Colorado is dealing with some injuries early on. Jonathan Drouin, who plays left wing on the top line, did not play Saturday and won’t be in the lineup against the Islanders due to an upper-body injury. Miles Wood and Devon Toews sat out Sunday’s practice but Bednar said it was just a maintenance day for the two.
