In a surprise move, Patrick Roy independently announced via statement that he is leaving the Colorado Avalanche organization after three seasons as head coach and vice president of hockey operations.
More than an hour after Roy's own release, the Avalanche confirmed his resignation.
"Patrick informed me of his decision today," said Joe Sakic, the team's executive vice president and general manager in a statement. "We appreciate all he has done for our organization and wish him the best of luck in the future.
"We will begin the search for a new head coach immediately."
According to the Denver Post, Sakic was on vacation when he received word of Roy's departure.
Roy, who won the Jack Adams Award as a rookie head coach after leading the Avs to a surprise divisional title and playoff berth, went 130-92-24 at the helm of the team he helped win two Stanley Cups as a player. Colorado missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.
Based on his statement, Roy did not see eye-to-eye with the overall vision for the organization and wanted more input in player decisions.
Here is Roy's statement in full via Frank Seravalli of TSN:
For the past three years, I have carried out my duties as Head Coach and Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Colorado Avalanche with energy, passion and determination.
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.
Today, I am informing you of my decision to leave the Colorado Avalanche organization. Though it saddens me, I have put much thought about this decision in recent weeks and have come to be fully comfortable with it.
I am grateful to the Colorado Avalanche organization with which I remain in good terms, for letting me lead this great team. I thank all the players I have had the pleasure of coaching and the fans for their unwavering, unconditional support.
I remain forever loyal to the Avalanche with which I played 478 games, coached another 253 and won two Stanley Cups.
It is incredibly rare to see a coach resign with years left on his contract. With frequent movement within that particular position across the league, stability is hard to come by. That said, Roy's dual-role of being the VP of hockey operations suggested a lot more input on player personnel decisions. It appears that Roy feels things have changed.
In the Roy-Sakic era of the team's hockey operations department, it's been difficult to discern what the vision even has been for the team. This summer, the Avs didn't make many big splashes in free agency, but made some smart, affordable signings amid a fairly weak market.
Terry Frei of the Denver Post recalled Roy's statements after the season that he felt the team needed to be more aggressive in free agency to help build the team. They obviously weren't, which may have ended up being the right move anyway. Additionally they parted from more recent draft strategy and it appeared as though Roy had a diminished role in draft day decisions, as Mike Chambers of the Denver Post noted.
Roy also appeared frustrated with his current players at various points of the 2015-16 season, particularly late as the team began to fade from the playoff race. There were multiple instances of him calling out players in post-game press conferences, notably criticizing top forward Matt Duchene for celebrating a goal in a game the team was losing and occasionally calling into question the leadership in the room.
It was pretty rare for the coach to put some of the blame on his own plate, though.
Even in the year they won the Central Division, the Avs were among the worst possession teams in the NHL. A lot of that has been attributed to Roy's systems by analysts. That 2013-14 season was a success largely because of the world-class goaltending from Semyon Varlamov, which proved unsustainable over the longer term.
Hiring Roy was one of the first big moves of Sakic's tenure in the front office. Bringing in his former teammate from the Quebec Major Junior League, where he was the head coach, GM and owner of the Quebec Remparts, Sakic was taking a bit of a risk.
In his previous organization, Roy controlled all aspects of the hockey side of the business. When the VP of hockey operations title was attached to his job with the Avalanche, it raised eyebrows as very few coaches have that level of input in player personnel decisions. A power struggle always seemed possible, given Roy's cantankerous reputation.
Roy is one of the most unique personalities in the game. He's never been afraid to speak his mind or wear his ego on his sleeve. In some ways, that's incredibly refreshing in a sport that can lack personality and personalities. On the other hand, it can lead to some drama as we've seen in the past and now his abrupt resignation.
While Roy's first year was a huge success in the standings, the team has not progressed much.
Meanwhile, the Avs have a really strong core of young players led by Duchene, Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Tyson Barrie. There's something to build around there. With Roy out of the picture, it will be interesting to see what the vision is going forward. Because whatever the vision was before was not working.
Roy may have done the team a favor by stepping down. Firing a legend of the organization is a tough thing to do, which is why it was a risky hire for Sakic to make in the first place. Now they don't have to even consider it.
They have a real chance to start fresh with Roy leaving. Training camps are due to open in just over a month, so the clock is ticking on finding a new coach. While time is of the essence, this is not a decision the team should rush.
The young core they have in Colorado is going to give them a good foundation to start from and if they can make the right decisions going forward, perhaps they'll have a better chance of getting back to the level they enjoyed when Sakic and Roy were on the ice instead of in the front office.
