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Sakic sheds some light on Roy departure, Avs’ coaching search

2016 NHL Draft - Rounds 2-7

BUFFALO, NY - JUNE 25: (l-r) Joe Sakic and Alan Hepple of the Colorado Avalanche attend the 2016 NHL Draft on June 25, 2016 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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If you were expecting a lot of spicy comments from Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic after Patrick Roy’s staggering resignation, you’re out of luck.

(You also probably haven’t come across a lot of stuffy press conferences.)

One can sniff out the little nuggets of half-truth during these strange times, mind you, but there isn’t a ton of steak or sizzle. (Click here for full audio via the Avalanche.)

You can probably boil down the combination of confusion, spin and contradiction in this tweet from NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika:

Seriously, try to take some of these comments at face value without furrowing your brow:

Eh, whatever.

Maybe Sakic and Roy are still good friends. Maybe they weren’t ever really friends in the first place, but rather colleagues sharing mutual respect.

In the grand scheme of things, their relationship only matters much as far as occasional Avalanche tributes/reunions are concerned.

The most important questions have to do with what’s next, and with the Avs still picking up the pieces at the moment, it’s not surprising that things are still pretty vague.

Maybe the most crucial bit of information about the “immediate” coaching search is that Colorado is unlikely to promote anyone from within, at least to be head coach:

Otherwise, they’ll take as long as they need to, with a goal if not a deadline for that decision.

It’s difficult to handicap such a race for a gig thanks to the hot-potato-timing of Roy’s departure.

Which coaches are even allowed to interview for a possible job in mid-August versus shortly after a season? Who can even wiggle out of a contract if the Avs are interested? Would it just go down to coaches who don’t have a job at all?

Roy put the Avs in a tough spot here; there’s little sense denying that.

Credit the Avalanche for not being nasty about it publicly. In the long run, this could very well be a boon for the organization, but they’ll need to mend some short-term wounds.