Are the leaks of Patrick Roy's offer from the Avs a ploy to force the Canadiens to make a pitch?
We're in a speculative mood today and Patrick Roy has given us a great deal to ruminate about.
Assuming the reports that the Colorado Avalanche have offered the former goaltending great the dual rule of coach and general manager are true, what's the hold up in his accepting the job?
A skeptic might conclude that it's: a) not true; b) not altogether true, or; c) that there are details that "just need to be worked out."
A cynic might conclude that Roy is playing the leverage game, hoping to get the word out to the Montreal Canadiens that Colorado's offer is real and that if the Canadiens want the French-Canadian saviour so many of its fans seem to think is necessary, then Habs general manager Bob Gainey better get into the game and fast.
Put me into the cynic camp on this one.
The way the story is leaking out, it all seems to be coming from the Roy camp and the bits and pieces indicate that it includes everything he wants: complete control of the bench and who works it with him along with complete control of the personnel decisions.
It's a given that Roy isn't qualified to do the traditional general manager work of advance planning, contract negotiation, building and maintaining a scouting operation and so many of the other countless business decisions a GM has to make, but that's not an issue and it's likely Roy wouldn't want to do any of that anyway.
But having complete control of the players both on the bench and in terms of who plays and who gets the money and who comes in or goes out via trades, free agency, the draft and such is a coach's dream. Most coaches, including most of the really good ones, don't have anywhere near that kind of power. The reasons are obvious, the most noteworthy being that too much power concentrated to too few people tends to lead to poor decision making and, in the hockey world, a poor hockey team.
Now the perception is that Roy is a perfect fit for Colorado, a hero of extraordinary accomplishment who, even more so than Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic, is the face of success in Denver. There is also a perception that he could rally the once-solid fan base even more than an experienced NHL coach. St. Patrick is a beloved figure in Denver and even if he lacks experience at the NHL level he has been a coach and manager at the junior level and whatever shortcomings he might have can be smoothed over by his former agent and former employer in Colorado, Pierre Lacroix.
That's all pretty much true so what's the delay? Well, there shouldn't be one unless of course Colorado is Option 2 on Roy's list of things to do with the rest of his hockey life.
And if Montreal is Option 1, well, we won't know until the final decisions are made, but think about it.
Roy grew up in and around Montreal, started his NHL career there and it's where he first built his reputation for excellence. He is a beloved figure by the populace, especially the French-speaking populace. As we all know, speaking French isn't crucial when it comes to who coaches the team, but being French-Canadian and coaching the team is something that a community of fans lives, breathes and would die for.
Let us also consider that when Roy picked a place to live in his post-NHL days, it was Quebec rather than Colorado. And when he decided to get behind a bench in hockey it wasn't in the United States, but in his beloved Quebec with the Remparts.
Doesn't it stand to reason that he might see himself in some sort of role, perhaps even as a returning saviour with what amounts to his mother franchise, the one that nurtured him to greatness and the one that, by all accounts, is in need of a French-Canadian saviour in ways that we haven't seen since perhaps the days of Rocket Richard?
The Canadiens have become a franchise adrift, adrift from winning to be sure, but also adrift from its roots, the very essence of its raison d'etre. Is it not at least logical to assume that Roy would want to have a role in bringing some of that back?
Is it not reasonable to assume that getting Montreal's French-speaking populace on his side by carefully leaking an offer from the team that spirited him away once before and seems interested in doing so again might move the normally-glacial Gainey to make a move now rather than later?
It would be fair to argue that Roy might not be Gainey's first choice and that he might (assuming he is going to stay as GM) not mind if Roy signed on with Colorado. After all, if Gainey does remain as GM he likely would surely be challenged in the role if Roy were his coach, especially if Roy were emboldened by fans and an ownership group that: a) might not be the group of record for very long, or; b) might be a group of French-Canadian investors that would very much be interested in replacing Gainey with Roy should they make a successful bid for the team that is known to be for sale.
When you consider that timing is everything in pro sports, isn't it reasonable to at least consider the timing of a story that suddenly has more leaks than the Titanic is getting a stunning amount of play in the city of the origin of said leaks, Montreal?
Now, is all of the above speculation? Of course it is, but is there a part that doesn't make sense?
To any reasonable person, not really.
Roy is pretty close to a saint in Colorado, but his reputation is just short of God-like in Quebec.
Can you think of a better way to put pressure on Montreal to hire Roy than the pressure that's out there today via a leak about Colorado allegedly upping an offer that almost seems too good to be true for Colorado fans but would be a nightmare for fans of the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge?
And can you think of any other reason why Roy hasn't said yes to Colorado yet?
Is it cynical to think it's because of Montreal? Of course, but it's also logical.
Let's just wait and see where this one goes.