Colorado Avalanche At St. Louis Blues Morning Open Thread: Roy? Not!

Back in August, Patrick Roy resigned as the coach and vice president of hockey operations of the Colorado Avalanche. Roy claimed it was because he didn't have enough input in player personnel moves. In true Roy-form, the announcement didn't come from the Avs or the NHL, it came from a Quebec PR firm, and contained this gem:

"I have thought long and hard over the course of the summer about how I might improve this team to give it the depth it needs and bring it to a higher level. To achieve this, the vision of the coach and VP-Hockey Operations needs to be perfectly aligned with that of the organization. He must also have a say in the decisions that impact the team’s performance. These conditions are not currently met."

Apparently the Avs were supposed to be his team. That's a great way to deflect blame from a 39-39-4 season.

The Avalanche are now led by former Lake Erie Monsters coach Jared Bednar. He has never coached in the NHL before, so he retained Roy's three assistant coaches. How different are things in Colorado now? The Avs are 5-5-0, and are .500 both at home and on the road.

The more things change...

This is your morning open thread for an early 4:00 start. Check back in a bit for a Lighting the Lamp from Rick, your preview, and your GDT. In the (brief) meantime, swing by Mile High Hockey and say hi.