Patrick Roy heading back behind the bench in the NHL?

We’re just 20 games into the 2018-19 NHL season and already we’ve seen four coaching changes in the NHL. This is especially surprising given that last season no coaches were fired until the offseason. This season though, general managers around the NHL are losing patience. 

It’s also interesting to note that of the four changes, only one new coach is without the “interim” tag, rookie head coach Jeremy Colliton with the Chicago Blackhawks. That means that the futures of Willie Desjardins, Craig Berube and Ken Hitchcock are still all up in the air and no one is quite sure which direction the Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and Edmonton Oilers are ultimately headed in. It also leaves the door open for coaches like Joel Quenneville, Alain Vigneault and Patrick Roy to swoop in should the interim thing not work out in any of these cities.

NHL insider and Sportsnet analyst Elliotte Friedman recently polled some current general managers to get their take on the next move might be on the coaching front and one GM in particular had an interesting take.

Check it out:

One suggested Rob Blake’s connection with Patrick Roy might put him on the Kings’ radar.

That is interesting. Of course, Rob Blake and Roy have a long history from their time playing for the Colorado Avalanche. Both players are legends in the Avs organization, even if Roy burned a free bridges by leaving the organization prior to the 2016-17 season. Roy won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s best coach in 2013-14 and there’s no denying that the team could benefit from Roy’s years of experience around the NHL.

Still, Desjardins is the team’s man right now. But if he can’t get the job done before season’s end, don’t be surprised if St. Patrick ends up behind the bench in Hollywood.

Again, from Friedman:

 Lots of talk about what Los Angeles will do. They’ve changed coaches and made one trade. Things can always change, but the Kings may choose to see how things evolve before anything else.

One thing's for sure... it's going to be an interesting season in LA.