Colorado Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy leads a practice at the Bell Centre Monday, March 17, 2014 in Montreal.Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press
Patrick Roy is leaving the Colorado Avalanche.
The club's head coach and vice president of hockey operations announced his decision to resign in a lengthy statement on Thursday that suggested discord with the organization.
Roy's vision for the club, he said, needed to be "perfectly aligned with that of the organization", adding that he must have "say in the decisions that impact the team's performance."
"These conditions are not currently met," Roy concluded.
And therefore, his tenure with the Avalanche was over.
Roy was mostly ineffective in his role as the Avalanche's sometimes controversial head coach. The club qualified for the post-season only once in his three seasons, missing out in each of the past two campaigns.
The Avalanche, under his watch, were often levelled in the puck possession game despite having a number of talented, young skilled players. Colorado typically forced its goaltenders, mostly Semyon Varlamov, to contend with a heavy shot count each night. The club allowed 32.3 shots per game last year, the third-worst mark in hockey.
The Avalanche's somewhat unusual set-up saw Roy acting as both head coach and an influential presence in management decisions. That led to overlap in the two roles and speculation of trades involving even the team's top players, such as 25-year-old Matt Duchene, who produced 30 goals for the first time last season.
Colorado has an incredible amount of young skill beyond Duchene including 20-year-old Nathan MacKinnon (52 points last season), 23-year-old captain Gabriel Landeskog (three straight 20-goal seasons) and 24-year-old offensive whiz on defence, Tyson Barrie (25 goals, 102 points over the last two seasons).
Varlamov, too, has offered flashes of No. 1 brilliance.
Still, the Avalanche missed the playoffs by five points last season (boasting a minus-24 goal differential) and nine points one year earlier (minus-eight). Underlying numbers suggested luck was in play when the group qualified for the 2014 post-season, a year that saw Roy capture the Jack Adams trophy as the league's top coach.
Colorado ranked 27th in puck possession that season, their success buoyed by an inflated shooting percentage as well as superb goaltending from Varlamov, who produced a .927 save percentage despite facing more than 2,000 shots — by far the most in the league.
The Avalanche management group is led by another esteemed former player, Joe Sakic, currently the club's executive vice president, general manager and alternate governor.
"Patrick informed me of his decision today," said Sakic in a team statement. "We appreciate all he has done for our organization and wish him the best of luck in the future."
Sakic also added that the team would begin its search for Roy's replacements immediately.
Roy was vague on whether it was discord with Sakic that forced him to such a decision, though it was evident from his statement that all was not well in Colorado.
"Though it saddens me," he said, "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."