Patrick Roy sidled up to Martin Brodeur at Canada's first
practice in Nagano last week and asked his fellow goaltender to
offer suggestions about how to play angles or when to come out
to handle the puck behind the net on the international ice
surface, which is 15 feet wider than NHL rinks. "I told him
don't be afraid to share," Roy says. "He's played international
hockey. I'm the rookie here."
Canada coach Marc Crawford, who's also Roy's coach on the
Avalanche, said he will play Roy in every Olympic game unless
disaster strikes. "In this tournament you have to have a Number
1 guy," Crawford says. True. But in choosing Roy over the
Devils' Brodeur, Crawford left no doubt he was looking out for
number 1: He and Roy have to coexist in Denver long after the
Olympics. Roy is a high-maintenance goalie whose disposition is
ill-suited to being a backup. In contrast Brodeur is an
easygoing guy who has idolized Roy since meeting him as a
teenager. "Hey, I can get mad too," Brodeur says with a smile.
"Of course I wish I could be the guy, but Patrick's the man now,
and he deserves to be. He's been the best goalie in the NHL for
a long time."
Czech Republic and Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek might demur, and
Brodeur, who leads the NHL in goals-against average this season,
has his backers—Sweden's Mats Sundin, who plays with the Maple
Leafs, said last week he was surprised Roy was playing ahead of
Brodeur—but Roy was an excellent choice. He has won three
Stanley Cups, and he usually plays his best in the biggest
games. (See: 10 straight overtime wins in the 1993 playoffs.)
He's also charismatic, one of the rare goalies who is a team
leader. As Crawford said in explaining his choice of Roy to No.
3 goalie Curtis Joseph, "It's Patrick's time."
Issue date: February 23, 1998
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