NY Islanders head coach Patrick Roy set for a another homecoming in Colorado

Patrick Roy already has had one homecoming since becoming head coach of the New York Islanders last January. In his second game, he received a hero's welcome in Montreal, where he won two Stanley Cups (1986 and 1993) and reached legend status for his playoff heroics. He will get another on Monday night when the Isles visit the Colorado Avalanche.

As the saying goes, most things end badly, otherwise they wouldn't end. Things didn't end perfectly in Montreal for Roy, but the reasons behind his departure with the other organization he played and wo Stanley Cups for, were much different and had lingering effects on his second career as a coach.

Roy returns to Colorado for the first time since departing the organization suddenly before the 2016-17 season starts. After registering 112 points and winning the Jack Adams Trophy as the league's best coach, Roy and the Avalanche took steps backward the next two seasons. Then, just months before his fourth season behind the bench, Roy penned his resignation, citing a misalignment with General Manager Joe Sakic as among the reasons why he was stepping aside.

At that time, it was unclear if or when Roy would return to coaching in the NHL, but it quickly became apparent that how he left his former organization played a factor in why it took as long as it did for Roy to earn a second chance. It finally came by way of Lou Lamoriello and the Isles. As much as Roy regrets how he left his last NHL job, he believes it has helped shape the coach he has become.

“I’m glad it happened that way,” Roy said in the New York Post. “Because I think it makes me the coach I am today and I certainly love the fact that I learned so much out of this in a way.” The phone didn't ring as quickly as Roy anticipated for his next job, but the end result is a coach who appreciates and respects the job more this time around and believes he is a better coach and person because of it.