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Source: Roy to retire from Avalanche
DENVER (AP) -- Colorado's Patrick Roy is retiring, ending the 18-year career of one of the greatest goaltenders in NHL history, a team source told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Roy will make the announcement at a news conference on Wednesday, the source said on condition of anonymity.
A four-time Stanley Cup champion, Roy is still considered one of the best goalies in the game at age 37. But he has been bothered by arthritic hips in the past few years, and he has made it clear he wants to follow the career of his oldest son, Jonathan, a goalie who will start playing in Quebec this fall.
Roy won two Stanley Cups each with Montreal and Colorado, and is the only three-time winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the MVP of the playoffs. He is the NHL's career leader in wins with 551, games played with 1,029. Earlier this season he became the first goalie to eclipse 60,000 minutes.
After the Avalanche were eliminated by Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs last month, Roy said he was 90 percent sure of his plans for the future, but did not reveal his decision.
Roy's retirement plans were first reported by the Daily Camera of Boulder on Tuesday.
Roy had his best regular season in 2001-02, with a 1.94 goals-against average and a career-high nine shutouts, but the playoffs ended in disappointment after he allowed six goals in a 7-0 loss to Detroit in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals.
Roy struggled early this season, but was unbeaten in 26 of his final 30 starts. He helped the Avalanche move pass Vancouver and win the Northwest Division title. He finished fourth in the league with 35 wins and had a 2.18 goals-against average.
Roy was solid in the first four games of Colorado's first-round playoff series against Minnesota, but gave up soft goals in Games 6 and 7 as the Wild became just the seventh team in league history to come back from a 3-1 deficit with two road wins.
"The day that I feel that I'm going to lose that desire and that passion, that would be a good time for me to leave," Roy said in January. "The tough part is that it could happen at any time. It could happen in the middle of the season, it could happen at the end of the season. And if it's time to go, it's time to go."
Before Roy broke into the league with Montreal in 1985, most goalies either stayed on their feet or stacked their pads to stop shots.
Glenn Hall and Tony Esposito, two goaltenders who starred in the 1960s and 1970s, helped develop the butterfly style of dropping to their knees to stop shots. Roy made the style popular during his record-setting career.
Roy hold the NHL record with 151 career playoff wins, and his 247 games and 23 shutouts are well ahead of Grant Fuhr, who is second with 150 games and 92 wins.
"He basically has done everything and broke every record, so I think it's pretty safe to say he's the greatest goalie who ever played," Colorado's Mike Keane said recently.
Roy appeared to be readying himself for retirement over the past year, when he bought a home in Lake Jupiter, Fla., and put his house in Denver up for sale.
From NHL.com
DENVER (AP) -- Colorado's Patrick Roy is retiring, ending the 18-year career of one of the greatest goaltenders in NHL history, a team source told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Roy will make the announcement at a news conference on Wednesday, the source said on condition of anonymity.
A four-time Stanley Cup champion, Roy is still considered one of the best goalies in the game at age 37. But he has been bothered by arthritic hips in the past few years, and he has made it clear he wants to follow the career of his oldest son, Jonathan, a goalie who will start playing in Quebec this fall.
Roy won two Stanley Cups each with Montreal and Colorado, and is the only three-time winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the MVP of the playoffs. He is the NHL's career leader in wins with 551, games played with 1,029. Earlier this season he became the first goalie to eclipse 60,000 minutes.
After the Avalanche were eliminated by Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs last month, Roy said he was 90 percent sure of his plans for the future, but did not reveal his decision.
Roy's retirement plans were first reported by the Daily Camera of Boulder on Tuesday.
Roy had his best regular season in 2001-02, with a 1.94 goals-against average and a career-high nine shutouts, but the playoffs ended in disappointment after he allowed six goals in a 7-0 loss to Detroit in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals.
Roy struggled early this season, but was unbeaten in 26 of his final 30 starts. He helped the Avalanche move pass Vancouver and win the Northwest Division title. He finished fourth in the league with 35 wins and had a 2.18 goals-against average.
Roy was solid in the first four games of Colorado's first-round playoff series against Minnesota, but gave up soft goals in Games 6 and 7 as the Wild became just the seventh team in league history to come back from a 3-1 deficit with two road wins.
"The day that I feel that I'm going to lose that desire and that passion, that would be a good time for me to leave," Roy said in January. "The tough part is that it could happen at any time. It could happen in the middle of the season, it could happen at the end of the season. And if it's time to go, it's time to go."
Before Roy broke into the league with Montreal in 1985, most goalies either stayed on their feet or stacked their pads to stop shots.
Glenn Hall and Tony Esposito, two goaltenders who starred in the 1960s and 1970s, helped develop the butterfly style of dropping to their knees to stop shots. Roy made the style popular during his record-setting career.
Roy hold the NHL record with 151 career playoff wins, and his 247 games and 23 shutouts are well ahead of Grant Fuhr, who is second with 150 games and 92 wins.
"He basically has done everything and broke every record, so I think it's pretty safe to say he's the greatest goalie who ever played," Colorado's Mike Keane said recently.
Roy appeared to be readying himself for retirement over the past year, when he bought a home in Lake Jupiter, Fla., and put his house in Denver up for sale.
From NHL.com