Patrick Roy Gets Five Game Suspension; Son Jonathan Gone For 7 In Goalie Attack
Posted March 25, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The verdict is in – but does the punishment fit the crime?
A famous hockey father and son who made headlines for their actions on the ice and on the bench this week will be sitting it out for a while.
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has suspended Quebec Remparts coach Patrick Roy for five games for his role in a weekend brawl, while his son – goaltender Jonathan Roy – will be out for seven straight.
It’s all the result of an incident that started against a Chicoutimi team on Saturday, when the junior Roy left his crease, went flying down the ice and began pummeling his counterpart at the other end of the rink without any apparent provocation.
The former NHL star, the coach of the team standing at the bench, appeared to be gesturing to his boy to get into the fight, which was part of a melee that broke out while the team was being humiliated 7-1.
The league called the elder Roy’s actions “prejudicial conduct” and ruled he was culpable of involving his son in the incident. The young man didn’t flinch when instructed to start fighting, laying his counterpart low and then giving the crowd the finger with both hands as he skated off ice.
He later apologized for the obscene gesture – but not the fight itself. He’s also liable for a $500 fine, while both teams are looking at $4,000 each in penalties.
“The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League finds the events which took place over the course of last weekend’s games deplorable and unacceptable,” league Commissioner Gilles Courteau notes in a statement. “We are deeply troubled by the incidents … I’d like to warn organizations that these types of incidents will not be tolerated and that should any more occur, steep fines will be handed out.”
Patrick Roy apologized to Bobby Nadeau, the other goaltender involved, and was sorry for the effects his actions have had on his son. “I regret not controlling the situation better,” he noted in a statement in French. “I saw what Jonathan went through in the last few days and it was painful for him. If I had controlled things better, he wouldn’t have had to go through that.”
The incident has reignited the controversy over hockey fights and the roles coaches and adults play in encouraging them. Partly because of that ongoing dialogue, the father and son might have more to worry about than league suspensions. Quebec’s director of public prosecutions has launched a criminal investigation into the brawl.
To see the judgment against Patrick Roy and his assistant coach, click here.
To see the judgment against Jonathan Roy and the others involved in the brawl, click here.
