Think big, “sti”! Not the time to be foolish. In New York we are not concerned with an interim coach, a selection process lasting several weeks or an endless advisory board, we needed the “king” and that was it.
The “King of the Mountain”, as Frank Sinatra says in his hit “New York, New York”.
The Islanders were the most convincing. They didn't go back and get what they wanted.
While many believed that Patrick Roy's phone wasn't ringing, we see that the opposite is ultimately true. He had several options.
The NHL stopped shunning him at that point because of his cavalier departure from the Avalanche.
And those who still believe Roy is controversial or too big for an NHL organization should tell themselves they're wrong. The best proof is when a big NHL personality with a very strong character, Lou Lamoriello, hires him.
I have no pity for the senators because they are primarily responsible for this failure. Because yes, it is a resounding failure.
Ottawa was lucky to be able to hire him back then. But they preferred DJ Smith. I don't know what Pierre Dorion was afraid of. But maybe he still has his job today.
But now it is too late. The Senators were no longer alone in the race.
- Listen to the journalist's interview with Richard Martineau above
QUB radio
:
Incomprehensible
I've been trying for two months to understand the logic behind the senators' actions, but I can't.
They have Stutzle, Tkachuk, Norris, Giroux, Batherson, Tarasenko, Sanderson, Chabot, Chychrun, Korpisalo… and they need two months to find a new coach and appoint a new general manager… who was already on the team.
What a terrible waste of time! And here we are with Jacques Martin, who is a hockey genius but can't make the same impact as a coach who has a three-year contract and turns everything upside down.
The Senators have recorded five wins and 11 losses since Jacques Martin's arrival. This sequence ended the team for the season.
With a .500 record in those 16 games alone, the team would have a record of 19 wins and 21 losses. A short winning streak and the party in Ottawa can continue.
But no. There the team died and continued to interview for a coach.
Think about it, it's so crazy that Patrick Roy wears an Islanders cap and not a Senators cap. The plot would have been great. Not far from Toronto and Montreal, there would have been the Senators with Patrick Roy, who would have planned to shake up the two big Canadian markets and even steal fans.
I don't know what the senators did to prevent this, but it's sad.
Furthermore, the Islanders did not choose Roy for image reasons, fans or to revitalize the franchise. They did it because they want to stop losing.
Ottawa didn't have just that reason to hire him. But there was also everything else.
At least we can say it's a positive for the Canadian. The Senators have the talent to disappoint even more than Montreal.
It ensures that Canadiens fans remain very connected to their club.