Patrick Roy climbed to the top of the mountain with the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts, who hoisted the CHL’s 2023 Memorial Cup on Sunday, but it will not lead to a NHL head coaching gig with the New York Rangers.
The Post has learned that the Rangers do not consider Roy a coaching candidate and he will not receive an interview for the position.
The Rangers have not reached out to Roy, and there is no plan to do so.
John Hynes and Peter Laviolette remain the front-runners for the open job behind the Blueshirts bench.
The Rangers are still doing their due diligence on both candidates before a final decision is made.
Roy, who hasn’t coached in the NHL since his bombshell resignation from the Avalanche in August 2016, has been circling the NHL rumor mill during this recent playoff run with the Remparts.
He announced prior to this season that it would be his last with Remparts, for whom he has served as head coach and general manager.
Returning to the NHL seems like the logical next step for Roy, but word is the Flames, who along with the Rangers are the only teams left without a coach, have yet to reach out to the one-time Jack Adams Award winner as of Monday morning.
The Ducks hired Greg Cronin and the Blue Jackets are primed to hire Mike Babcock.
It is peculiar that Roy isn’t toward the top of the list of available NHL coaches.
Between his decorated playing career – three Vezina Trophies, three Conn Smythe Trophies and five William M. Jennings Trophies – and his time coaching in the QMJHL, Roy should probably be up for another chance in the NHL.
Even though the Avalanche missed the playoffs in two of his three years with the team, that was seven seasons ago now.
No one can dispute how the Remparts fed off his fire and thrived in the structure of his system this season, which was evident in the love that poured onto the ice for Roy after the final buzzer sounded on their 5-0 rout of the favored Seattle Thunderbirds on Sunday.
His outspoken passion and colorful personality makes him an enticing option, but also a risky one.
The Rangers, however, appear to be erring on the side of caution for this incredibly important hire.
Perhaps Roy’s memorable exit from the Avs, in which he cited an unaligned vision with the front office, has made NHL teams wary of the 57-year-old.
He doubled as vice president of hockey operations at the time because he wanted to have input in bigger decisions, which evidently didn’t end well.
Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury was teammates with Roy for four seasons in Colorado, where they won a Stanley Cup together, so there is familiarity there.
Though that clearly didn’t have an impact on Drury’s decision.
In theory, Roy and the emotion he’d bring to the Rangers would be beneficial.
If it were too much, however, it could’ve been detrimental.
Before the Rangers parted ways with Gerard Gallant, it was clear the players were in need of guidance more than anything.
Hynes can be fiery, while also bringing a decisive outlook on how to handle things.
On the other hand, Laviolette relates to individual players well.
Both are experienced options, which appears to be a priority for the Rangers.
The two are still in the race to become the Rangers next head coach, but Roy’s next gig won’t be in New York.