Patrick Roy Makes Islanders Coaching Debut Under Bossy’s Banner at UBS Arena

As a teenager growing up in Quebec City, Patrick Roy was a sensational young goaltender but also a fan. During these years, he witnessed two dynasties dominate the NHL. The first was the Montreal Canadiens, a team he disliked as a fan of his hometown Quebec Nordiques. The Habs won the Stanley Cup four consecutive seasons from 1976-1979.

The second was, of course, the NHL’s last four-cup dynasty, the New York Islanders of the early 1980s. The 51st selection in the 1984 NHL Draft, Roy ascended to the NHL quickly, and by the 1985-86 season, the 20-year-old was part of a three-goalie rotation for Montreal along with Doug Soetaert and Steve Penney.

Nobody could’ve expected that Roy would ultimately lead the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup later that spring when he made his Nassau Coliseum debut vs. the Isles on Nov. 12, 1985. Roy made 30 saves in a 3-2 win, besting Billy Smith.

“And I was playing in the Coliseum then … that was like, man look at that lineup. There’s [Denis] Potvin on defense, there’s [Bryan] Trottier, there’s [Mike] Bossy, there’s [Clark] Gillies, Hall of Famer Billy Smith on the other side,” said Roy via the , “I was very intimidated, and I’m very proud to be in the footsteps of these guys and hopefully that I could make the difference as well.”

After Sunday’s morning skate, Roy went into more detail about his relationship with Bossy, the Islanders’ all-time leading goal scorer, who was his neighbor during Roy’s playing days in Montreal. As the story goes, Bossy’s daughter was a babysitter for Roy’s children, Jonathan, Frederick, and Jana.

One night, while Bossy’s daughter was in charge, one of the kids got their head stuck in the railing of the stairs. Who to call when in such a predicament? Who else but the greatest pure goal-scorer of a generation? On that night, it was the goal scorer providing the save for the goaltender’s son, cutting him out. We have no reason, but to assume Bossy’s daughter was still paid her full rate for the night.

Roy makes his Islanders’ coaching debut under Bossy’s banner at UBS Arena against the Dallas Stars. Face-off from UBS Arena is set for 7:30 PM EST.