What could bring Patrick Roy back to Montreal?

[REV-G]

When MB was interviewing candidates as our potential head coach and we were debating who would be the best coach for us we all had our favourite. I think at the time names like Marc Crawford, Bob Hartford, MT and Patrick Roy were probably the four frontrunners by a wide margin, given factors like experience, abilities and of course the language issue after the terrible Randy Cunneyworth experiment.

All of those coaches are now in different places and, for me, I still like MT. Every coach has their own way of doing things, good and bad. And all coaches have a shelf life. But I have to admit at the time we hired MT I would have loved to have had Patrick Roy but based on what we had just been through with Pierre Gauthier and Randy Cunneyworth I can understand that a rookie GM would be taking a huge risk by hiring an unproven NHL coach in Patrick Roy, with all the questions at that time about his temperament and ability to make the transition from Junior to the NHL coaching ranks.

But today those questions have largely been answered and I would love to have Patrick as our coach. Bring him home before Quebec City gets a team and he ends up there. So more out of curiosity I want to ask the question, what would have to happen for Patrick Roy to become the head coach of the Canadiens? I don't mean what has to happen on our end, that's obvious. My question is, is this even possible before his contract with Colorado expires?

He signed a 4 year deal. One of the high profile French reporters intimated on Tuesday night that it was possible. He referred to the Pat Burns situation, when he left Montreal and signed in Toronto. Had his contract with us expired or did we let him go at his request?

So could Patrick become our coach sometime in the next year or so if we have an opening? Tell me what you think?

[Commandant]

If we offered him money and power, and the avalanche agreed to let him go, it could happen.

Its really that simple... all three parties need to agree. Colorado needs to agree to let him out of his deal. Roy needs to agree to come and we need to agree to hire him.

In order to get the Avs and Roy to agree you likely need to give him at least the same job title (or better)... He's currently VP of hockey operations and head coach, as well as a raise in salary.

[Neech]

I think Roy is in the perfect situation in Colorado. He's completely supported by the management team, he has a little somebody called Joe Sakic just to help out around the office, he has a boatload of young talent, and he's far from any media circus. Denver will support the Avs if they win, and they won't care if they lose.

And let's give him a couple of years to prove himself, especially in his management role.

[REV-G]

I think sometimes there is a window of opportunity for moves like this. Certain players or coaches are only available at certain times in their careers. The good ones get locked up for longer periods of time.

With coaches having a certain shelf life I wonder if a year or so from now, if we had an opening, whether a raise and a right hand position to MB or even a newly created VP position, if something like that would work?

[Machine of Loving Grace]

Roy is likely to have a Scotty Bowman style career in the NHL. He might be in Colorado for a decade before we see him in Montreal. But I think it's inevitable we will see him behind the Habs bench one day. Then again, thought that about Larry...

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

What Roy has proven is that he can coach highly successfully at the NHL level for one season. Let's see how he wears on after about 3-4 years (remember, Therrien looked brilliant in his first season with us). And then let's see how he looks as a GM, because he's not going to come here as a subordinate. I still say the whole idea is premature.

[KoRP]

Yep, premature by about 4-5 years likely. Bergevin doesn't buy those kind of suits, to share the GM duties ..... and Bergevin is here for a while, even if Therrien isn't.

[hab29RETIRED]

Roy is likely to have a Scotty Bowman style career in the NHL. He might be in Colorado for a decade before we see him in Montreal. But I think it's inevitable we will see him behind the Habs bench one day. Then again, thought that about Larry...

Robinson would still be coaching if he had the stomach for the pressure. IMO he is probably one of the few superstar players that was an outstanding coach and has the ability to develop players. And I"ll also add it for the 10 milliononth time, that he should be our assistant coach today.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I agree with you, Habs29, but we should not take it as given that Big Bird would have agreed to come here. His coaching history is pretty consistent: he likes low-key, low-pressure markets. The real objection isn't that "we failed to hire him," but that we failed to adjust our interview schedule to accommodate him. Absolutely that was dumb, and probably had more to do with Therrien not wanting someone around who could pose any sort of threat to his authority than with rational analysis. Again, though, that still doesn't mean he'd have come here in the end.