Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Can Patrick Roy Handle The Criticism?

09/18/2013 at 8:45am EDT

from Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post,

There's absolutely no doubt Roy is serious about bringing the Stanley Cup back to Colorado. While it might be easy to rest on his Hall of Fame reputation, Roy works his tail off. The rookie Colorado coach also isn't afraid to mess with the status quo, as evidenced by Roy's willingness to quickly shuffle personnel, already replacing P.A. Parenteau with Steve Downie to play on a top line alongside Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly.

But over the grind of a long NHL season, can Roy keep his cool and maintain patience with a franchise relearning how to win? Can he deal with the inevitable second-guessing that shadows all coaches? What happens when a knucklehead like me dares to question the moves of St. Patrick, who won 551 regular-season games and four NHL championships as a goaltender?

"You have been my No. 1 fan in Denver. I'd be surprised if such a thing happens. You have been protecting me every day of my playing career," a laughing Roy told me shortly after he was named coach and vice president of hockey operations for the Avalanche in May.

"If you criticize me as a coach, then I'm going to swallow it, no problem. But make sure you come to see me at the office the next day. I won't be mad. At least I hope not."

read on

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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