Avalanche Exec VP/Hockey Operations & GM Joe Sakic on Thursday said that coach Patrick Roy’s decision to resign earlier in the day "caught him by surprise," according to Terry Frei of the DENVER POST. Sakic said that Roy, who also served as VP/Hockey Operations, "told him Thursday morning, shortly before" a PR agency issued a news release on Roy’s behalf. The majority of the release was a statement from Roy, who said that he "didn’t believe he had enough input in player personnel decisions, a role that seemed to go with him having a front-office title as well." Sakic said, "Patty was always involved. ... He was aware of all the decisions we were making." Sakic "emphasized he believed he and Roy were 'on the same page." But Roy in his release said, "I have thought long and hard over the course of the summer about how I might improve this team to give it the depth it needs and bring it to a higher level. To achieve this, the vision of the coach and VP-hockey operations needs to be perfectly aligned with that of the organization. He must also have a say in the decisions that impact the team’s performance. These conditions are not currently met.” Asked again if Roy’s influence on personnel decisions had waned, Sakic said, “Patrick was consulted on everything" (DENVER POST, 8/12).
STANDING YOUR GROUND: USA TODAY's Kevin Allen notes the Avalanche three years ago were "trying to be progressive when they hired Roy to coach and have input in personnel decisions." The idea was to have Roy "work with his buddy" Sakic to build the Avalanche "into a winning organization again." But Roy's departure "reaffirms that the traditional general manager-coach role is still the best set-up in the NHL," as there is "no ambiguity about who makes the final decision." Allen: "There’s a separation between church and state." Allen notes Roy most likely "still has a high degree of respect for Sakic and the Avalanche." But he "has always been prideful." If the Avalanche "didn't believe in doing it his way, Roy has the mental make-up to walk away with no regrets" (USA TODAY, 8/12). In Colorado Springs, Woody Paige notes unlike Broncos Exec VP/Football Operations & GM John Elway, neither Roy nor Sakic "had total control," and ultimately, they "couldn't share the reign and the reins" (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 8/12).
NOT WHAT IT ONCE WAS? In Denver, Mark Kiszla notes Roy's departure is "more than a little suprising." But the bottom line is a hockey man "who demands nothing less than excellence ran out of patience with a once-dominant NHL team’s mamby-pamby approach to restoring its lost luster." Roy "put an exclamation point on the same message frustrated fans had been sending the Avalanche for more than a decade: Is this team really serious about winning the Stanley Cup?" What Roy did was a "slap in the face to" Avalanche President Josh Kroenke and Sakic (DENVER POST, 8/12).
