Patrick Roy

• Born: October 5, 1965
• Place of Birth: Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

SPORT: Ice hockey

Early Life

Patrick Roy was born on October 5, 1965, in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, where he was raised by his mother, Barbara, and his grandmother, Anna. Although his mother spoke English as a native language, she always spoke French to Roy so that he would fit in with the other children in Quebec City, which is a French-speaking area. Roy first went to a hockey rink at the age of eight. He then began playing goalie for Pee Wee teams in Quebec City and, later, for junior-league teams in Quebec.

The Road to Excellence

Roy's abilities in junior hockey attracted the attention of a scout for the National Hockey League's (NHL) Montreal Canadiens. Roy was selected fifty-first overall in the 1984 amateur draft. Instead of trying to make the NHL club, Roy decided to keep playing in the Quebec junior leagues. In the spring of 1985, his team won the Calder Cup, awarded annually to the Canadian junior team that won the national tournament.

In the 1985–1986 season, Roy began playing for the Montreal Canadiens. Jean Perron, the Montreal team's coach, chose Roy as the Canadiens' goalie for the season. Going with a young rookie goalie was a risk, given that the Canadiens had not won the Stanley Cup since 1979. During Roy's first season, the Canadiens played well and ended up with a respectable seventh-best record in the league.

The Emerging Champion

Entering the 1986 playoffs, Montreal did not expect to win a Stanley Cup. However, Roy played spectacularly in the four rounds of the playoffs. In the 1986 finals, the Canadiens, led by the young twenty-year-old goaltender, defeated the Calgary Flames four games to one, winning the Stanley Cup. Roy earned the Conn Smythe Trophy, given to the most valuable player in the NHL postseason. He was the youngest player ever to receive the trophy. In his first year in the league, Roy had reached the dream of every young person who plays hockey. During the 1986 playoffs, the Canadiens set an NHL record by winning ten overtime games, which was a credit to Roy.

After the 1986 Stanley Cup, expectations were high for Roy and his teammates. Roy played exceptionally well in goal for the next several years, winning three Vezina Trophies, which are given annually to the best goalie in the NHL. Montreal, however, failed to win the Stanley Cup between 1986 and 1992.

Continuing the Story

As had been the case in 1986, by the 1992–1993 season, the Canadiens were not favored to win the league championship. The Pittsburgh Penguins had won the previous two Stanley Cups, and the team was the favorite to win the championship again. Canadiens fans were becoming discontent, and some started wearing buttons to encouage the Montreal coach Jacques Demers to trade Roy.

Demers, however, resisted such pressure. During the opening round of the 1993 playoffs, the Canadiens lost the first two games in the best-of-seven series against the Quebec Nordiques. Demers showed his confidence by stating that Roy would be the Canadiens' goalie for the entire playoffs. Roy played relentlessly, stopping many breakaway shots in overtime periods. The Canadiens were outplayed and outshot in many of the playoff games in 1993, but Roy kept the goals out and allowed his team to win game after game.

The Canadiens advanced steadily through the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Penguins lost to the lowly New York Islanders, who had barely qualified for the playoffs. Led by Roy, the Canadiens won four straight games against the Nordiques and then against the Buffalo Sabres. Montreal then defeated the Islanders in five games; two of the Canadiens' four victories in that series were in overtime.

As had been the case in 1986, Montreal had surprisingly qualified for the Stanley Cup. The Canadiens won three successive games in overtime and the 1993 Stanley Cup four games to one over the Los Angeles Kings. Roy was again awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. After Roy's performance in the 1993 playoffs, the Canadiens did not want to lose Roy to another team, and he signed a new contract that made him the highest-paid goalie in the NHL.

Following his second Stanley Cup championship with Montreal, Roy posted his first losing record during the 1994–1995 season. His problems continued in the next season as the Canadiens got off to a slow start. Roy was suspended after a game with the Detroit Red Wings in which he gave up eleven goals and stormed past the coach while demanding to be traded.

Roy's request was granted, and he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in December 1995. In the 1995–1996 playoffs, Colorado defeated the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Finals. In game four of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Florida Panthers, Roy recorded sixty-three saves. Colorado went on to win its first Stanley Cup Championship. As he had in his first year in Montreal, Roy helped Colorado win the Stanley Cup in his initial season with the team. Many hockey experts considered the trade between Montreal and Colorado to be one of the most lopsided in NHL history. Montreal struggled to find a starting goalie for the next several years, while Colorado had Roy for the next eight seasons until his retirement in 2003.

In the 2000 season, against the Washington Capitals, Roy surpassed Terry Sawchuk as the all-time leader in regular-season wins with his 484th victory. In 2001, the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup again, and Roy became the first player in NHL history to be named Stanley Cup playoffs most valuable player three times.

After eighteen full seasons in the NHL, Roy retired in 2003. In his final season he recorded 35 wins, an outstanding number. When he retired, he held many league records, including most wins by a goaltender, 551; most games played by a goalie, 1,029; most playoff games; and most playoff wins. He won four Stanley Cups, three Conn Smythe Trophies, five Jennings Trophies, awarded to the goaltending team with the lowest goals against average; and three Vezina Trophies, given to the goalie judged as best in the league. Furthermore, he played in the all-star game eleven times. Upon Roy's retirement in 2003, the Colorado Avalanche retired his number thirty-three; five years later, the Montreal Canadiens retired the same number. In 2006, he was inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

After retiring, Roy coached a Junior A team, the Remparts, in Quebec and used his high energy to inspire the younger players to play as hard as he had. In 2006, in his first season as coach, Roy guided the team to the Junior-A national championship. Like his NHL debuts in Montreal and Colorado, Roy achieved the highest success possible in his first coaching position.

Roy continued as coach of the Remparts until early 2013, when it was announced that he would be returning to the NHL and his former team, the Avalanche, as coach and vice president under executive vice president Joe Sakic. Though the Avalanche had been suffering a losing streak and were considered underdogs, Roy was confident that he could help turn their record around. In the team's first season with Roy serving as coach beginning that fall, the players regained confidence and played well enough to win the Central Division and reach the Stanley Cup playoffs before being knocked out by the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the Western Conference. Regardless, critics praised the team's performance over the season and credited Roy as a large part of their success. In the summer of 2014, he was presented with the Jack Adams Award, which effectively recognized him as the best coach in the NHL. After two less successful seasons as coach, Roy announced in the summer of 2016 that he was resigning, citing a lack of input in essential personnel decisions.

In 2018, Roy returned to coach the Quebec Ramparts. He remained as its head coach for five years, winning the 2023 Memorial Cup. His two sons, Fredrick and Jonathan, both played under Roy during his tenure.

In January 2024, Roy returned to coaching as he was named head coach of the NHL's New York Islanders. This followed the firing of Lane Lambert with 37 games left in the season. Under Roy's direction, the Islands won 20 of their remaining games before losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the playoffs.

Summary

Patrick Roy's spectacular play in the 1986 and 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs established his reputation as one of the best goalies of his generation. He always played with confidence and made remarkable saves in incredibly stressful situations. A weaker goalie might have succumbed to the pressure, but Roy always raised his level of play when it counted.

Bibliography

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Farber, Michael, and Kostya Kennedy. “Winning in Style.” Sports Illustrated, vol. 93, no. 16, 2000.

Frei, Terry. "For Patrick Roy, Battle over Avs Personnel Decisions Was Tipping Point for Resigning." The Denver Post, 11 Aug. 2016, www.denverpost.com/2016/08/11/patrick-roy-resigns-colorado-avalanche. Accessed 24 Mar. 2017.

Hornsby, Lance. Hockey’s Greatest Moments. Key Porter Books, Toronto, 2004.

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Murphy, Bryan. "Patrick Roy Coaching Record: Islanders Hire Legendary Goalie to Replace Lane Lambert As New York Head Coach." The Sporting News, 20 Jan. 2024, www.sportingnews.com/us/nhl/news/patrick-roy-coaching-record-islanders/77aa709e77ce2f2116462248. Accessed 24 June 2024.

Stubbs, Dave. "Roy’s Return to NHL Thrills Friend, Former Teammate Bourque." NHL.com. 22 Jan 2024, www.nhl.com/news/ray-bourque-happy-for-islanders-coach-patrick-roy-return-to-nhl. Accessed 24 June 2024.

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