Speculation: How Would Have Patrick Roy's Team Look Like?

S E P H

Cloud IX
Mar 5, 2010
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Toruń, PL
If anything Zads was one of Roy's projects. Zadorov talked in interviews about how Roy wanted him to follow his pass and chase the play. As the play breaks out of the zone he didn't want him standing straight or tall. He wanted his knees bent following the play. I don't know if I've ever heard of Roy talking in such detail about any other player like that.

I disagree, Roy was always in a "win now" mode. As I said previously, I think he was disappointed that Zadorov wasn't as NHL compete as the player they traded away was (in ROR). What happened though is that he had to accept that conclusion and then make him into one of his projects. A project which he didn't want to coach at the NHL level, there is a reason why he wanted to send him down. First was because he wasn't NHL ready, but because Roy had enough of his turnovers and mistakes (which isn't entirely wrong IMO).
 

Pierce Hawthorne

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One move that I think perhaps would've happened that didn't...


The first year after we won the division title, and picked #23 overall. That pick was rumored to be very close to traded during that draft. I believe(Not certain on this) it was rumored afterwards that we were close to trading that pick to the Penguins for James Neal.

So, I think we'd be looking at having a guy like Neal on the team.




I also think we would've seen Rantanen traded at the deadline for Drouin. Barrie traded this summer for Trouba. Duchene traded to Ottawa for Zibanejad + Marc Methot(Roy type of Dman), and probably seen Varlamov traded to the Flames for maybe a 2nd + prospect. We also probably dont sign Soderberg or any of the guys we did sign this summer, instead opting for some sort of 4th line Center like Gaustad.

I think we would've signed Backes or Radulov as well, and kept ROR instead of trading him. So the team I think would've looked something like this:


Landeskog - Backes - Neal
Drouin - ROR - Mackinnon
Comeau - Zibanejad - Mitchell
McCleod - Gaustad - Martinsen


Methot - EJ
Beauch - Trouba
Holden - Guenin


Pickard
Berra




Honestly, on paper I think a Roy team could have success. The problem would always come back to Roy as a coach. I just dont think he's a quality enough coach to get the best out of his players, and I think his teams would struggle because of this.
 

chet1926

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Jan 9, 2008
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It's just so hard to even speculate the what if, if Roy had his way.

For starters:

1. ROR would still be around, at some obscenely high amount like 8M per.

2. Radulov would be here.

3. Drouin would be here as well. Most likely traded for Barrie.

4. Duchene would most likely be gone. Probably for a Dman, tough to say who but we'll just say Lindholm or Trouba for argument sake.

5. We'd drafted someone stupid at 11 this year, like Max Jones who in an interview said he was shocked the Avs didn't take him.

6. Iginla would still be here, can't get rid of that contract and Roy was probably in on that signing as that occurred when he was more heavily relied upon.

7. Probably would have given out a stupid contract to an overpriced dman UFA either this year or last. Let say they land Sekera last year for argument sake.

I'm guessing a lineup of:

Landeskog-MacKinnon-Drouin
Radulov-ROR-Rantanen
Comeau-Soderberg-Iginla
McCleod-Mitchell-Martinsen

Beauchemin-EJ
Sekera-Trouba
Gelinas-Holden
Guenin

Varly
Pickard

On paper this team isn't half bad, but that's not really the issue. Our prospect pool would be absolute trash. We wouldn't have Jost, Compher or Zadorov (yes I still count him as a prospect even though he has played in the NHL for over 85 games, he is still just 21 and learning). Granted we'd add Drouin as a younger player/prospect but he doesn't make up for the lack of depth we'd have there.

Not to mention the salary cap issues we'd have moving forward, as guys like Rantanen and Drouin eventually will get paid.

So while on paper it looks pretty decent, the underside is pretty dark. And that was the issue with Roy he wanted the win tomorrow, who cares about the next 5 seasons. While Sakic wanted to build a team that could possibly compete for 5-10 years but might not win tomorrow. Hence why we saw the split as their visions for the team were on different pages.
 

tigervixxxen

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Jul 7, 2013
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I don't think Roy would have done a whole lot more in UFA besides Radulov of course. He's said multiple times that he hates July 1 and it's the worst thing in hockey. I'm not sure what he wanted was to give into ROR either, he's not the type to appreciate another party getting leverage on him. What Roy would have done IMO is a lot more trading. He was known as a wheel and dealer in the Q (and it's an easier league to do that in). He probably would have moved every first except for the 1OA to either move up to get the D he wanted or trade it for an established player. He would definitely have traded a core player this summer, maybe two. Who knows what he would have been willing to move for Drouin (they wanted defense). It's really hard to speculate which pieces wouldn't be here. It's also tough to sort which signings were his influence or impossible to say his doing entirely and which he wouldn't have done. As a coach you kinda expect them to be win now because they have such a short shelf life, that's generally why they aren't GMs too.
 

CobraAcesS

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One move that I think perhaps would've happened that didn't...


The first year after we won the division title, and picked #23 overall. That pick was rumored to be very close to traded during that draft. I believe(Not certain on this) it was rumored afterwards that we were close to trading that pick to the Penguins for James Neal.

So, I think we'd be looking at having a guy like Neal on the team.

From what little was said about that rumor, it seemed to fall through on the other side. I think we would have had to up our offer.

The Pens ultimately got the better player for Neal, as our offer supposedly involved PA versus NSH offering Hornqvist.

Picks/prospects didn't hold much weight for Pit beyond being currency, as they were trading them like stale candy at the time.
 

Freudian

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Jul 3, 2003
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I don't think O'Reilly would be here either way. I think he wanted out and set his price at something even Roy couldn't pay. I don't think much would have changed until this off season, when it was obvious Roy was now just the coach. Last off-season I think he still had hand.

In Roy's world, I imagine these changes:

I think one core player would be gone. Most likely Duchene. I don't think they would have drafted Jost. Most likely Logan Brown. Avs would have signed Radulov to a multi-year deal. Those are the big ones. Possibly trade Barrie or **** up the arbitration hearing, burning bridges.
 

Jayevs

Formerly avsman
Jul 29, 2010
4,255
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Drouin-MacKinnon-Radulov
Landeskog-O'Reilly-Iginla
Paquette-Soderberg-Comeau
McLeod-Mitchell-Martinsen

Holden-Trouba
Beauchemin-EJ
Bigras-Polak

Varlamov
Pickard

With Crouse and Brown selected the past two years.
 

agentblack

Registered User
Apr 11, 2011
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New York City
One move that I think perhaps would've happened that didn't...


The first year after we won the division title, and picked #23 overall. That pick was rumored to be very close to traded during that draft. I believe(Not certain on this) it was rumored afterwards that we were close to trading that pick to the Penguins for James Neal.

So, I think we'd be looking at having a guy like Neal on the team.

.


I think it was rumored to be PAP and the 23rd for Neal
Yeah i would have been on board for that. Too bad, but PIT made the better deal getting Horny
 

5280

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Jan 15, 2011
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Good read SEPH. Thanks for sharing.

Not a bad column by Dater, it really is pure - t speculation and not much we didn't know already, but it's probably as much insider info we are going to get out of Denver.

One thing I do disagree with is the comparison he is trying to draw between Bednar and Sacco, but I guess that is Dater being Dater.

I do agree that the focus really shifts more towards Sakic. I have wondered if he will get the two coaches customary leash or will Roy even count towards that. Also, will Sakic be around that long anyway as a GM?
 
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tigervixxxen

Optimism=Delusional
Jul 7, 2013
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I don't mind the Roy speculation, it was everything else in there. A ton of knee jerk ignorance. I could go through it but I'll spare everyone.

No, he's not back at the DP. His hot takes are back. He's writing on Woody Page.com for goodness sake.

I love the local media's "or else" tone. Or else what? Is Sakic actually going to get fired? Does Josh know enough about the NHL in order to fire anyone? Even if Sakic got "fired" or something for poor performance, the entirety of the FO would be left intact, so what's the point really. I'm not saying he shouldn't be held accountable but again, what's the point? Or else what? What really are the options here?
 

5280

To the window!
Jan 15, 2011
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I don't mind the Roy speculation, it was everything else in there. A ton of knee jerk ignorance. I could go through it but I'll spare everyone.

No, he's not back at the DP. His hot takes are back. He's writing on Woody Page.com for goodness sake.

I love the local media's "or else" tone. Or else what? Is Sakic actually going to get fired? Does Josh know enough about the NHL in order to fire anyone? Even if Sakic got "fired" or something for poor performance, the entirety of the FO would be left intact, so what's the point really. I'm not saying he shouldn't be held accountable but again, what's the point? Or else what? What really are the options here?

What is too bad is that there are probably many people out there who take the medias word for it.
 

Avs_19

Registered User
Jun 28, 2007
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Some really interesting tidbits in here for the posters who think Dater is telling the truth.

http://woodypaige.com/adrian-daters-hockeyworld-real-story-on-patrick-roys-good-bye-to-avalanche/

Roy lost faith in his team after a disastrous, 4-0 home loss to Minnesota late in the regular season. After the second period, in fact, he yelled so loud people could hear him well down the hallway from the dressing room at the Pepsi Center. Watch closely the tapes of games that happened the rest of the season, and you can see it in Roy’s body language. He mostly stood with his hands in his pockets, rarely saying anything to anyone on the bench. Prior to that, Roy had always been a vocal, active coach, whistling line changes to players and screaming out instructions on positioning.

Dater sure does love this story. He has mentioned it in writing and on the radio many times now. That's the game after which Roy reportedly walked up to Torchetti and wished him luck in the playoffs so Dater's description of him for the rest of the season makes sense. He officially quit in August but he was done after that game. Based on their play, some of the players also probably called it a season after that loss.

One of the players Roy most lost confidence in, which has largely gone unreported, is goalie Semyon Varlamov. Roy and trusted goalie coach Allaire had a fairly close, active relationship their first two years together. But something changed in the third year. Rookie Calvin Pickard was given more playing time in the second half of the year, and Varlamov seemed to take it personally. Never a particularly vocal player to begin with, some around the team said Varlamov became morose around his locker toward the end, with Roy seemingly no longer in his corner.

Earlier he said Allaire was still one of Roy's guys but then says something changed in their relationship? Did he mean to say Roy and Allaire had a close relationship with Varly early on but not so much last season?

IIRC, Varly was one of the guys Roy publicly criticized the most towards the end so I can believe he lost confidence in him.

Some of the other stuff in the article just seems like Dater being Dater.
 

tigervixxxen

Optimism=Delusional
Jul 7, 2013
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I don't doubt his story about the Minny game happened but the context. How many games had Dater been at? How does he know things changed? But I can agree Roy felt like that was it. Didn't he callup Zadorov after that game?

Roy used Varly quite a bit down the stretch and I certainly don't think he wasn't getting along with Allaire. I agree it reads like he had a split with Allaire but them splitting with Varly makes more sense. Still, it's not like they gave Pickard the reins at the end either.
 

member 116861

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The one thing I learned from that article is that Sakic is a Riders fan? I lost all my respect for him.
 

Ivan13

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May 3, 2011
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Dater sure does love this story. He has mentioned it in writing and on the radio many times now. That's the game after which Roy reportedly walked up to Torchetti and wished him luck in the playoffs so Dater's description of him for the rest of the season makes sense. He officially quit in August but he was done after that game. Based on their play, some of the players also probably called it a season after that loss.



Earlier he said Allaire was still one of Roy's guys but then says something changed in their relationship? Did he mean to say Roy and Allaire had a close relationship with Varly early on but not so much last season?

IIRC, Varly was one of the guys Roy publicly criticized the most towards the end so I can believe he lost confidence in him.

Some of the other stuff in the article just seems like Dater being Dater.

I think he wants to say that he started to meddle in his work and that he didn't take his advice on who to start as was the case in years past.
 

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