(Terrebonne) Since he was able to put on his skates, Patrick Roy has not often been off at this time of the year. This time, he’s right there: on leave.
Because Patrick Roy chose to put a cross on his junior hockey coaching career, he finds himself right now doing nothing, well, from a strictly professional point of view; we can still see him in public on occasion, as was the case on this beautiful Tuesday in Terrebonne, at the Serge Savard golf tournament. The man who once drafted him with the Montreal Canadiens in the 1984 draft.
But otherwise, the one who left the ship of the Quebec Remparts in June is content to wait. Wait for what ? An offer, if possible.
“Of course it has always been a privilege for me to work with young players in junior hockey, noted the former goaltender of the Canadiens and the Colorado Avalanche. But I made a decision, and I live very well with this decision. I’m going to miss my squad, for sure I’m going to miss the guys, but it’s like 2003 when I retired as an NHL player: we’re moving on.
“If the phone ever rings, we’ll listen.” But right now there are some really good hockey men already in place in the National League, and at this time of year everyone thinks they have a shot at winning the Stanley Cup… It’s like it works. So I take advantage of the moment. »
Hockey also works with results, which Patrick Roy is far from ignoring, and even before the next season begins, there are already rumors of possible departures and changes in the Ottawa Senators camp.
In this thorny issue, Roy’s name should come up quite often in the rumor mill, since the main interested party and Michael Andlauer, the businessman who is to finalize the purchase of the Senators, are said to be good knowledge.
But Patrick Roy did not want to promote his own candidacy in front of the microphones on Tuesday.
“I think Ottawa is a great hockey city, like everywhere else,” he said. It was Alain Vigneault who told me at one point that there are just 31 coaches in this league, now 32, and that it is a privilege… so for sure if the phone rings, I will listen. But right now, the Senators have people in place, and they’re doing a great job. »
Also, Patrick Roy made a point of saying, basically, that there is not only hockey in life.
“I’ve had a lot of disconnect from everything that’s going on, but for sure I’m watching a bit from a distance. We are all sports freaks… So we keep watching all this. »