Why was Patrick Roy traded by the Canadiens? A look back at legendary goaltender's unceremonious Habs exit

By Cole Shelton

Modified Jan 18, 2024 17:10 GMT

Patrick Roy is one of the best goalies in NHL history, but the ending of his tenure with the Montreal Canadiens did not go well.

Roy was the Canadiens goalie from 1984 until 1995 and won two Stanley Cups. However, on Dec. 6, 1995, he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in one of the biggest trades in franchise history.

On Dec. 2, 1995, the Montreal Canadiens lost 11-1 to the Detroit Red Wings. During the game, Roy would raise his arms in frustration, as he wasn't pulled from the game.

Roy and coach Mario Tremblay did not see eye-to-eye and their tension was known league-wide. Four days later, the Canadiens traded Roy and captain Mike Keane to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko.

It was considered a lopsided trade at the time. Three decades later, it's arguably the most one-sided trades in NHL history.

However, Montreal didn't have much leverage, and according to player Serge Savard, he wrote in his autobiography that Roy needed to move out of Montreal:

“Patrick had become too important in the club. He took up too much space in the dressing room, had too much influence on the coach. Over the previous years, I had to handle him with kid gloves.

"I still had the same admiration for him as I did when we won the Stanley Cup in 1986 and 1993, where he played a determining role. But a change had become necessary. The team revolved around him too much. For the good of everyone, he needed a change of scenery.”

Eventually, due to Patrick Roy's fractured relationship with Tremblay, it became clear that the star goalie needed to be traded out of Montreal.

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How did Patrick Roy's remaining NHL career pan out?

After the trade to Colorado, Patrick Roy helped lead the Avalanche to Stanley Cups in 1996 and 2001.

Roy has his jersey retired by both the Canadiens and Avalanche, finishing his career with 551-315-131 with a 2.54 GAA and a .912 SV%. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006 and holds numerous NHL records, some of which are:

• Most NHL playoff games played by a goaltender (247) (third-most playoff games of all players)
• Most NHL playoff wins by a goaltender (151)
• First NHL goaltender to play 1,000 NHL games (finished with 1,029 games, later passed by Martin Brodeur)
• First NHL goaltender to win 500 games
• Most Conn Smythe Trophy wins – 3