Avalanche hire Patrick Roy as coach

DENVER – Hall of Fame goalie Patrick Roy is returning to the Colorado Avalanche as their head coach.

The team reached an agreement in principle Thursday with Roy to lead the Avs and also gave him the title of vice president of hockey operations.

Roy will join forces with former teammate Joe Sakic, who was recently promoted to executive vice president of hockey operations. The Avalanche won two Stanley Cup titles with the duo on the ice and the organization is hoping they can help turn around a downtrodden team.

The Avs are coming off a season in which they finished last in the Western Conference and missed the playoffs for the third straight season. The dismal season led to the dismissal of coach Joe Sacco late last month.

The 47-year-old Roy becomes the sixth coach in Avalanche history and the 14th in franchise history; the team began as the Quebec Nordiques and moved to Denver before the 1995-96 season.

The team won the first of two Stanley Cup titles that season, with Roy in net.

Roy has spent the last eight seasons as coach and general manager of the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, winning the 2006 Memorial Cup. He also is a part-owner of the QMJHL franchise.

Roy was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006.