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Roy more significant than record
As Patrick Roy marched toward career win No. 448 en route to breaking Terry Sawchuk's NHL record, CNNSI.com caught up with Sports Illustrated's Michael Farber, who has covered Roy extensively in Montreal and Colorado, and provides some perspective on the hockey life and times of St. Patrick. CNNSI.com: How important a figure is Patrick Roy as a goaltender? Michael Farber: I would say once you get past Jacques Plante, maybe there hasn't been anybody as important as Roy. CNNSI.com: Will breaking this record be the key to Roy's being considered among the best goaltenders in the history of the game, or was he already there? Farber: I think it's one of the things that will certainly put him up there among the top three, but the comparisons to Sawchuk, I think, are inexact. He's more comparable to Plante because he, like Roy, was an innovator. So you may not say Roy is the best goalie of all time, but certainly he's one of a handful of the most important. Stylistically, he started changing the position. Patrick was a butterfly goalie. And he wasn't the first, but what made him different is that he did it for reasons of positioning. Glenn Hall did it because he wasn't a terribly strong guy and Tony Esposito did it by combining a lot of reflexes. Roy did it specifically to cover the bottom of the net, which he did as well as anybody. The other thing that made him different early on is that he handled the puck. Plante had done that before him, but Patrick was essentially taking charge of the game. And you have to remember the Canadiens had a veteran defense in 1986 -- Larry Robinson and Rick Green were there -- and you had this baby handling the puck, much to the annoyance of his coaches and the bafflement of some of his teammates. But he went out there and grabbed the spotlight. CNNSI.com: Do you think this record is something Roy will cherish? Farber: I think it means a lot to him. Roy's always been very conscious of his numbers; most good athletes are. And the only positive statistic you have for goalies is wins. You're measuring goals-against and save percentages based on shots that go by you. So the only relentlessly positive stat is Ws. And that's meant a lot to him. CNNSI.com: And as far as you're concerned this record is not without irony, is it? Farber: I think the strange thing about the record is that we don't think in terms of Patrick Roy as a regular-season goalie. He made his money in the playoffs, winning two Conn Smythe trophies and three Stanley Cups. We think of him as a money goalie. So he's going to be hailed for a regular-season record when in fact we think of him as a playoff goaltender. CNNSI.com: Let's go back to Montreal, where that very reputation was forged. Farber: He came in and produced immediately. In 1986, they won a shocking Stanley Cup. What was shocking was that Edmonton was knocked off. So it was a surprise Stanley Cup final and he was the guy. But the thing to remember is that in 1987 and 1988, there was some question with then-head coach Jean Perron as to whether Roy should actually be the No. 1 goalie. ( Brian Hayward played 36 games in '86-'87 and 39 games in '87-'88.) Roy was pulled in the playoffs both those years. And there was a question in town until '89, despite what he had done in '86, as to whether he would ever be a great playoff goalie. Most people thought he would and that Perron was making a mistake, but it was still an open-ended question. In 1989, of course, that question was answered when the Canadiens went to the finals and lost in six games to Calgary. CNNSI.com: Was there a defining moment for Roy in Montreal? Farber: You have to advance to 1993, when he wins the Cup and he wins 10 straight overtime games. The interesting thing about that season is that he had a pretty bad regular season. The All-Star game was in Montreal that year and as part of a promo with Upper Deck trade cards, there were bulletin boards all over town saying Echangez Roy, which means, "Trade Roy." And though it was a cute promotional thing, people said, "Hmm, that's not a bad idea." Roy had a tough year in '93 and ended up losing the first overtime playoff game he played. Then he ended up winning 10 straight. But that playoff season was, in a sense, fluky, too, because in a Game 7 in Pittsburgh, the Islanders upset the Penguins. The Canadiens didn't have to play Pittsburgh, they ran through the Islanders and ended up winning three straight overtime games against the Kings -- starting with the Marty McSorley game. CNNSI.com: The career victories record doesn't figure to stand as long with Roy as it did with Sawchuk. Farber: It's one that has a very good chance of being broken, and within the next 10 years. Martin Brodeur has been averaging 39 wins a year over the last four or five seasons. If he averages 32 for the next eight -- and Brodeur's only 28 years old -- he will be up to 500, and Roy's going to end up a little north of 500. If Brodeur stays healthy and the Devils remain the team they are now, it would seem inevitable that the record would fall. CNNSI.com: How much longer will we be seeing Roy? Farber: Oh, I think he wants to keep playing. He lost a bunch of weight, about 12 pounds, over the summer. He's never been a great physical specimen, though he is starting to take care of himself a little better. He's an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. He'd like to stay in Colorado and if he stays with a good team, I think he's good for another three years. Goaltenders play late into their careers. I don't think he'll become a Glenn Healy -type of backup, though. I think as soon as he's no longer a No. 1, he'll be out of there. CNNSI.com: Will the breaking of this record provide a lasting memory for hockey fans? Farber: We knew the record was going to fall, it was just a matter of when. This is not going to be one of the classic moments of the game, but it's certainly a worthy moment; a testament to a guy's consistency and longevity, and also testament to an absolute belief in self and his style. That's why this is significant. Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Farber covers the NHL and appears regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated.
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