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Roy, Fleury share similar experience
DENVER (CP) -- As Theo Fleury prepared to meet his former Calgary Flames teammates Tuesday for the first time since being traded to Colorado, Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy had a good idea of what Fleury would experience.But Roy never got emotional when he faced the Montreal Canadiens for the first time after his December 1995 trade to Colorado.
"It's a little diffferent for Theo than it was for me," Roy told the Rocky Mountain News. "The way I left Montreal is not the way Theo left Calgary.
"Everybody was sad to see him leave, and it was an emotional moment. I think the Calgary organization did it the right way."
Roy's bitter departure from Montreal has been well-documented.
"It was not tough for me," Roy said of his emotional state.
Roy made a triumphant return to Montreal the next season, playing well in a 7-3 victory. He has a 4-1-1 record in six games against the Canadiens.
"A goaltender can't be that emotional," Roy said. "When you're playing against your old team, especially when I (returned to) Montreal, I couldn't let anything bother me because I could not go out there and give up a bad goal. I had to make sure I had a good game.
"It's different for a forward. If you have a slow start or a bad shift, that doesn't matter. You score a goal, and everybody forgets. If a goalie gives up a bad goal, you live with it for the entire game."