The Most Inevitable Surprise Blockbuster in Hockey History?
This morning, in my email inbox, The Athletic sent a review of hockey news. In that review, there was a reminder that this week marks the 30th anniversary of one of the biggest blockbuster trades in NHL history.
Even thirty years later, the Patrick Roy trade still sits in its own category. It’s part cautionary tale, part organizational fracture, part miracle for the Colorado Avalanche. Even at the time, it felt lopsided. As an old-timer who watched it unfold in real time, I can say the imbalance didn’t require hindsight; you could tell, deep down, that something was really wrong with it.
The Montreal Canadiens sent Patrick Roy and captain Mike Keane to the up-and-coming Avalanche and got Andrei Kovalenko, Martin Ručinský, and Jocelyn Thibault in return. Kovalenko lasted a year. Ručinský topped out at 25 goals. Thibault was good, but he was not Roy.
The bottom line didn’t take a long time to reveal itself. Colorado didn’t just win the deal — they won the Stanley Cup that same spring. The Habs rebuilt; the Avs lifted banners.
The Habs Didn’t Just Lose a Goalie — They Lost the Room
But here’s where the story always needs a footnote. Montreal didn’t simply misread the market or panic at the wrong time. The relationship with Roy was already bending. There had been tension for months, personality clashes behind closed doors, and coaching decisions that felt more pointed than strategic.
And then came the night in question, now almost exactly 30 years ago. Coach Mario Tremblay left Roy in the net for far too long against Detroit. Everyone watching could feel the temperature rising shift by shift. Roy was shelled, humiliated, and boiling. When he skated past Tremblay and told team president Ronald Corey that he’d played his last game for Montreal, the deal was sealed. Montreal could no longer salvage the situation, even if the franchise had wanted to.
The Avs Didn’t Just Gain a Goalie — They Gained an Identity
Colorado was a team on the rise, talented but still forming its NHL identity after relocating from Quebec. Roy didn’t just step into that room — he set its tone. He brought swagger, edges, expectations, and a standard. His arrival changed the Avalanche overnight.
And with him, they didn’t just become contenders. They became champions.
Would Roy Have Been Traded Anyway, Even Without the Red Wings Game?
Old hockey questions don’t always have neat answers, but this one keeps resurfacing. The Habs were moving toward a split long before that Detroit game. Roy’s frustration was visible. Management’s choices were louder than their words.
But the moment Tremblay left him in that net, the trade stopped being a possibility and became a certainty. Which leads to the question I still wonder about, even now: If Patrick Roy had been pulled earlier that night — if the Habs had given him that one sliver of respect — would the Avs ever have landed the goalie who built their first dynasty?