Patrick Roy refused to sway from his game face.
Asked by a reporter about his latest return to Montreal as head coach of the New York Islanders, and what it means to him, the famous former Canadiens goaltender wouldn’t allow himself to go there and put the focus on Thursday night’s game, not himself.
“I am sorry, I just want to focus on our game,” he said less than three hours before his team’s encounter against the Habs at Bell Centre on Thursday.
“I think everybody in Montreal knows how much I love them and how much respect I have for this organization but at the same time, we’re here to win a hockey game.”
Roy acknowledged, however, that it’s always special to return to Montreal, having won two Stanley Cups with the team in 1986 and 1993.
He also reminisced about how lucky he was to have been surrounded by great coaches and what he learned there he brings with him.
“One of them was Jacques Demers and how positive he was,” Roy said.
But, as much as Roy was trying to keep the focus on the ice, the hype from fans about Thursday’s game wasn’t going away.
“I’m really excited,” said Canadiens super fan Sunil Petesh on Thursday.
Peetush said Roy’s return to the NHL was something he was really looking forward to.
The only hiccup? The fact that Roy is behind the bench for the other team.
The 58-year-old Roy was hired as head coach by the Islanders last weekend.
“I wish it could have been for us, to be honest,” said Peetush.
This is Roy’s second stint behind the bench of an NHL franchise, having coached the Colorado Avalanche from 2013 to 2016.
The four-time Stanley Cup champion, who is third on the career NHL wins list among goalies, won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in 2013-14 after guiding the Avalanche to the playoffs in Nathan MacKinnon’s rookie season.
He resigned abruptly from the Avalanche ahead of training camp and has spent the past five seasons coaching and serving as GM for the junior Quebec Remparts.
With the Islanders, Roy believes he’s been given a second chance and expressed his gratitude to the organization, and especially Lou Lamoriello and Jacques Lemaire.
“I’m lucky to have mentors like that,” he said. “I think I’m going to grow as a coach — I think I’m going to grow as a hockey person. I’m very blessed to be in that position.”
— with files from Global News’ Gloria Henriquez and the Canadian Press