Is Patrick Roy the favorite to be next Ottawa Senators coach?
As the Ottawa Senators enter the home stretch in their search for a new coach, they may given away the favorite with Patrick Roy as the final interview.
After firing Guy Boucher on March 1 and completing the season with Marc Crawford as interim coach, the Ottawa Senators have left few stones unturned in their search for a new head coach. According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun the seventh candidate will the last, as Patrick Roy is expected to interview next week.
After his Hall of Fame career as a goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche, Roy built a resume as a coach, owner and executive with the Quebec Ramparts in the QMJHL. After eight seasons there, he became head coach of the Avalanche in 2013.
The Avs surprisingly popped up and won a division title in Roy’s first season (52-22-8, 112 points), as he won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s best coach. But that success faded fast, as Colorado finished seventh and sixth the Central Division in the following two seasons. In September 2016 he suddenly stepped down, amid frustration over lack of input in personnel decisions as vice president of hockey operations as well as coach.
Roy just returned to coaching this past season, leading the Ramparts to a 27-28-13 record.
Just following up on @SunGarrioch and his report that Patrick Roy will indeed interview for the Ottawa Senators’ head coaching position. Sens source confirms.
— John Shannon (@JShannonhl) May 18, 2019
As Garrioch noted, the Senators could have up to 17 picks in the first three rounds of the next three drafts as they look to add to a young roster that notably includes winger Brady Tkachuk and defensemen Thomas Chabot and Erik Brannstrom. Roy’s history with young players clearly pushes his candidacy for Ottawa.
On the matter of input into personnel decisions, Garrioch added, per a league source, that Roy “would love” to coach in the NHL again and will be content to just be a coach this time around.
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Once Roy completes his interview, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion is expected to circle back and do a second interview with one or two top candidates, with an eye on having a coach in place before the draft on June 21. If the order of interviews doesn’t tip their hand, Roy’s resume and perceived fit seems to instantly make him the betting favorite to permanent replace Boucher.