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No early hook: Joe Sakic says Patrick Roy will be back as Avs coach

Joe Sakic, Patrick Roy

Colorado Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic, left, and head coach Patrick Roy watch players during the first day of NHL hockey training camp Thursday, Sept. 19, 2014, in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

AP

Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic told reporters (including the Denver Post’s Terry Frei) that Patrick Roy will be back as head coach next season.

Of course, this assumes that Joe Sakic gets to make that call.

For what it’s worth, it sounds like Sakic will retain such power, at least based on an account from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

The Avalanche stormed out of the gate during Roy’s debut season as a head coach, defying #fancystats to land a surprise playoff berth.

They were unable to close out the Minnesota Wild in a memorable Game 7, and things have really gone downhill from there. In fact, we’ve reached that awkward point where Roy is starting to put an uncomfortable amount of onus (some might say “blame”) on star players, especially Matt Duchene.

The Avs have missed the playoffs for two straight seasons, and their possession stats remain abysmal.

Is that the fault of Sakic, Roy or a combination of the two? That’s a debate for another day, especially if both Hall-of-Fame players remain employed as polarizing executives.