Dud No. 1 – Patrick Roy
When Denver Post hockey writer Terry Frei asked Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy following the team’s 4-3 home loss to the previously winless Columbus Blue Jackets if he was angered or embarrassed losing to an 0-8 team, the four-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender-turned-coach said simply, “Not at all.”
The boos that echoed off the walls of Pepsi Center at the end of the night on Saturday preceded those comments, but there’s good chance that fans echoed the same sentiment when they read those words the following morning.
The Post called Roy’s reaction “seeming denial.” That seems to be just one of the problems with Roy early in the 2015-16 campaign.
At 2-4-1, with just five points to their name, Colorado is again in the basement of the highly-competitive Central Division that boasts (the other) six clubs already with double-digit points.
Two years ago, Roy’s magic wand was to pull his goalie early when down late. The spell ran out on that one last season and so this year Roy again reached into his bag of tricks and came up with a way to conjure wins in a new way this year. Roy decided to scrap morning skate the day of games, breaking with NHL tradition from as long as anyone can remember.
He’s going to need another strategy, and soon, as the only thing his new plan has evoked is doubt among the fan base. The alumni game at Coors Field against the Red Wings is still four months away (tickets go on sale Tuesday, FYI). It will make things mighty awkward if Roy’s announced as “former goalie” and “former head coach,” but if things stay on this course, it could be hard to keep Roy in his current role. And no one wants to see Craig Billington in goal for the Avs alumni squad.
