The Night Patrick Roy Changed the Future of the Colorado Avalanche
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Patrick Roy had already won two Stanley Cups before joining the Colorado Avalanche. But getting him to Denver required one of the most remarkable sequences of events in NHL history. And it started with a bad night against the Detroit Red Wings.
On Dec. 2, 1995, Roy was in goal for the Montreal Canadiens against the Red Wings at the Montreal Forum. It certainly wasn't his night as the Red Wings scored nine goals against Roy before Canadiens head coach Mario Tremblay finally removed him during an 11-1 decimation. Roy wasn't happy being left to the wolves and he let the Canadiens organization know it. He skated past Tremblay and approached team president Ronald Corey, telling him he had played his final game in Montreal. Four days later, Roy was given a new team address.
On Dec. 6, 1995, the Avalanche acquired Roy and forward Mike Keane from the Canadiens in exchange for goaltender Jocelyn Thibault and forwards Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko. It was a blockbuster of a deal. Roy wasn't some struggling goaltender hoping to resurrect his career. He was already established as one of the greatest postseason performers in NHL history. He won the Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1986 and 1993, earning the Conn Smythe both times.
Joining the franchise in its first season in Colorado, they had plenty of talent. Joe Sakic was one of the top centers in the league, Peter Forsberg was developing into a superstar, while Claude Lemieux provided scoring and a physical presence. What the Avalanche needed was a goaltender capable of carrying that talent through the postseason. Roy was exactly the man for the job and the results came almost immediately.
The Avalanche finished the 1995-96 regular season with 104 points and entered the playoffs with championship aspirations skating in their head. They defeated the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks in the playoffs, respectively, before facing the Red Wings in the Western Conference Final. Yes, those Red Wings. The same organization that had put the puck behind Roy nine times in Montreal just months earlier. In the words of Ed Rooney, from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, nine times.
This time, Roy got the better of them. The Avalanche defeated the Red Wings in six games before sweeping the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final. The Avalanche were champions in their first season in Denver. Roy had his third Stanley Cup and five years later, he added his fourth and final championship in his illustrious storybook career.
By the time he retired in 2003, Roy had established himself as one of the most successful goaltenders in league history. His arrival also helped transform the Avalanche into one of the NHL's premier organizations. All because a coach embarrassed his goaltender in a game that was played in front of the hometown crowd. The Canadiens lost a franchise goaltender, and the Avalanche gained one.
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Jason Fink is an NHL writer and lifelong hockey fan who fell in love with the game when he watched Wayne Gretzky’s Edmonton Oilers defeat the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1987 Stanley Cup Final. When he’s not writing, Jason enjoys spending time with his wife Michelle and their son Theo and daughter Stella. Whether he’s following the latest NHL news or cheering from the rink, his passion for the sport has been a constant throughout his life.