Patrick Roy abruptly resigned as head coach and vice president of the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday, just two months before the regular season is slated to begin.
Roy, who has coached the Avalanche for three seasons and led them to one playoff appearance, said in a statement that he and the rest of the organization were not aligned in their goals.
“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,” Roy said in a statement, via TSN. “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.”
Roy led the Avalanche to a division title and the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs in 2014, his first season with the team, but their record has gotten worse in each of the last two seasons. The Avalanche accumulated 112 points in his rookie season as coach, dropping to 90 the year after and 82 this most recent season. He was known for his habit of pulling goalies while trailing very early relative to other coaches, as well as his fiery demeanor on the bench.
