QUEBEC — Patrick Roy is returning to the Quebec Remparts as coach and general manager.
The Hall of Fame goaltender announced Thursday that he has signed a two-year contract with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team.
The 52-year-old Roy previously acted as part-owner, coach and GM of the Remparts from 2005-13, winning a Memorial Cup in 2006.
"The Remparts have always been my passion," he said.
Roy left the Remparts in 2013 for a three-year stint as coach and vice-president of hockey operations for the Colorado Avalanche, during which he won the Jack Adams Trophy as NHL coach of the year in 2014.
The Quebec City native has not closed the door on an eventual return to the NHL, but said he hasn't received any offers since his abrupt departure from Colorado, where he felt he was being shut out of hockey decisions.
He wasn't looking for a junior job either, but began to consider it when Philippe Boucher resigned as the Remparts' coach and GM two weeks ago. He was spotted at some QMJHL playoff games last week, stirring speculation he would return to the Remparts.
Roy said he went to the games "just to reassure myself that I was ready to come back to junior hockey.
"I was impressed by the pride of the people supporting their teams and it didn't take long for the passion to come back to me."
In his previous stint, Roy was a fiery presence behind the Remparts bench who was frequently fined by the league for criticizing officials, rival teams or even, in one case, league commissioner Gilles Courteau.
He also boosted ticket sales around the league and, a strong recruiter, he consistently put together contending teams.
Roy returns to a team that has moved out of the Quebec Colisee into the 18,259-seat Videotron Centre and which is now owned by media company Quebecor. Quebecor president and CEO Pierre-Karl Peladeau attended the news conference with Roy, Quebecor-Sports head Martin Tremblay and Remparts president Jacques Tanguay.
"Coming back to run the Remparts is like a gift to myself," said Roy, adding that he does not see taking the job as a step backward. "I lived through some very good years behind the bench.
"I consider it a privilege to come back to my city to coach this team."
Tanguay said there were other good candidates, but "once I started talking to Patrick, the ball was in his court.
"This is a big day for the Remparts. Patrick has done outstanding work for us."
In his previous stint, Roy had a .640 winning percentage in 544 regular season games.
He took to coaching after a 17-year career as one of the best goaltenders in NHL history, compiling a career record of 551-315-131 with the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado. He won two Stanley Cups with each team and is the only player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs three times.
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013.
Louis-Antoine Lemire, The Canadian Press
