Patrick Roy and the Senators: Travis Green must be haunted by his owner’s comments

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Patrick Roy and the Senators: Travis Green must be haunted by his owner’s comments
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Patrick Roy is no longer the Islanders' coach. Everyone knows that by now.

If Mathieu Darche decided to changeDeBoercourse and look for a new coach, it's not just for the future, but also for the present.

The Islanders want to make the playoffs. And as of this morning, they have a two-in-three chance of being left out of the spring dance.

(Credit: Sportsnet)

More and more, we're seeing that teams understand it's difficult to make trades in today's NHL… and that changing coaches can be a necessary wake-up call.

We saw it in New York and Vegas: a coach is never safe. Not even at the end of the season…

That's why many coaches must be feeling the heat right now. After all, if a team isn't meeting expectations, there's clearly no longer a bad time to fire a head coach.

And that brings us to Ottawa.

I wonder how much pressure Travis Green (who currently has a two-in-three chance of leading his team to the playoffs) is feeling. Why him? Because Patrick Roy can be a game-changer in a market where his name refuses to fade away.

Jean-Charles Lajoie and Renaud Lavoie discussed this yesterday on TVA Sports: we shouldn't underestimate the possibility of the former Canadiens and Avalanche player being handed the reins of the Ontario club.

Yesterday on TVA Sports, JiC mentioned the time when Michael Andlauer, the Senators' owner, said he regretted “a little” not having hired Roy as coach.

He said this when the Islanders had just hired Roy and when Jacques Martin was there just to finish out the season.

That said, given what's been written, it's easy to imagine that Travis Green must be feeling the pressure seeing just how much his boss values a coach who's currently a free agent.

And when Green sees teams not afraid to make moves, it must be on his mind.

Obviously, if Green were to lead his team to the playoffs for a second straight year, that would help him. Winning playoff games would be just as good.

But if Brady Tkachuk or another big name on the team wants the coach's job…


In a nutshell

– The Blue Jays had a disastrous week.

– Maple Leafs: Which direction will the next GM take?

– Must-read.

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