By the Numbers: '96 and the Ultimate Response to "The Trade"
If ‘95 was the year of “The Trade”," then ‘96 was the year of the ultimate goalie response. It’s a script no Hollywood writer could top: a legendary goalie is humiliated by a rival, traded away from his home, and then returns months later to conquer the very team that tried to break him en route to winning the Stanley Cup.
From the Forum to the Rockies
The irony of the trade wasn't lost on anyone in Quebec. Patrick Roy, the heartbeat of the Montreal Canadiens, was sent to the organization that had been one of their fiercest rivals: the Quebec Nordiques. The catch? The Nordiques had just moved to Denver to become the Colorado Avalanche.
Roy arrived in a locker room already loaded with talent like Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg. He wasn't just a veteran addition; he was the missing piece of a championship puzzle. While he traded his Montreal jersey for Colorado colours, his playoff DNA remained exactly the same.
The Detroit Debt
The ‘96 postseason provided the perfect stage for Patrick Roy to settle his scores. To reach the ’96 Stanley Cup Final, the Avalanche had to go through the Detroit Red Wings—the juggernaut that had put nine goals past Roy just months earlier, effectively ending his career in Montreal.
Under Scotty Bowman, that 1995-96 Detroit team was a machine (e.g., Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, Paul Coffey), finishing the season with 62 wins (131 points). But Roy was a man on a mission. He anchored Colorado to a six-game series win, proving the "nine-goal nightmare" wasn't a decline—it was just fuel.
Looking Back: How “The Trade” in ‘95 Unfolded
‘96: Roy’s Rocky Mountain Rise
The 1995-95 season ended with a four-game sweep of the Florida Panthers. For Patrick Roy, the 1995-96 campaign was a whirlwind of historic proportions:
The Trade: Patrick Roy was traded on December 6, 1995 to a Colorado franchise on the rise.
The Stanley Cup: Patrick Roy secured his third Stanley Cup championship and the first in Colorado history.
The Legacy: While Joe Sakic took the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in '96 (Roy would eventually win his record-breaking third Conn Smythe Trophy in 2001), Patrick’s presence turned a "good" team into a dynasty.
When NHL fans look at the number “96”, they see more than a year. They see the birth of a powerhouse in the West and the moment Patrick Roy proved he didn't need the Montreal mystique to win—arguably, he was the mystique.