In 1984, Patrick Roy was drafted by the Canadiens. Eleven years later, he stormed off the ice and vowed that he would never play another game for Montreal ever again. Ever since then, he has been connected to the Habs through rumors of a return. When Roy stepped down as coach and vice president of hockey operations for the Colorado Avalanche, the rumors started all over again.

I’m not going to get into whether or not the Canadiens should bring in Roy in some capacity, as The Forum does a pretty good job with that this week (we weren’t very nice). I think the Canadiens could benefit more from the past of the Avalanche than from a future including Patrick Roy.

When the news about Roy broke, and after his statement was released, the whole situation appeared to mimic the Canadiens’ front office narratives. For starters, Roy and his boss, Joe Sakic, are generally regarded as friends. Both Roy and Sakic are legends who played key roles in Colorado’s glory years.

One thing that is seldom remembered is the fact that Sakic was not in the picture when Roy was hired. Former GM Greg Sherman was still technically in the picture, but had no real input on personnel decisions.

Talked to NHL GM about COL shopping No. 1 pick: "Who are we supposed to call there?" Patrick Roy, apparently. Greg Sherman GM in name only.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) May 29, 2013

From the start, it would seem Roy had the keys to the franchise and wanted to run it his way. Fast forward to the beginning of the season, and Joe Sakic is the new GM, and Roy is head coach and VP of hockey ops.

Fast forward again, and Roy is releasing a statement claiming his lack of input in hockey decisions was the reason he left:

I have thought long and hard over the course of the summer about how I might improve this team to give it the depth it needs and bring it to a higher level. To achieve this, the vision of the coach and VP-Hockey Operations needs to be perfectly aligned with that of the organization. He must also have a say in the decisions that impact the team’s performance. These conditions are not currently met.

To me, it seems like Patrick Roy wanted to be, and still wants to be, GM and coach of an NHL team. Sakic, once hired, had other ideas and wanted to build the team his way.

So what does this have to do with the Habs?

For starters, Michel Therrien and Marc Bergevin are also generally considered to be friends. It’s hard to ignore that narrative when the team suffers a catastrophic collapse and the coach is given a full vote of confidence. Even before the collapse, Bergevin appeared to give Therrien the exact team he wanted. Players like Douglass Murray and Devante Smith-Pelly were brought in while skilled players with offensive potential like Jiri Sekac and Alex Semin sat in the press box for weeks before prematurely leaving Montreal.

Instead of adding scoring at trade deadlines, Bergevin added players suited for Therrien’s system; players like Brian Flynn and Torrey Mitchell come to mind.

Instead of embracing mobile, dynamic, puck moving defensemen that appear to be the way of the future in the NHL, Bergevin plays into Therrien’s game plan based on intangibles and makes the most talked about trade since, well, Patrick Roy was traded.

I can only assume it is difficult to be an NHL general manager. They all make it look so difficult. It must be infinitely more difficult to be friends with your head coach. Don’t get me wrong, Michel Therrien is no Patrick Roy. If Bergevin were to stop placating Therrien, I doubt Therrien walks out on what is essentially his dream job, despite how wonderful that sounds to many of us.

What Bergevin needs to learn, despite his reluctance to do so, is that coaches in the NHL are replaceable. Coaching systems are interchangeable. Patrick Roy may be the greatest goaltender of all time, but as a coach he can be and will be replaced and the world will keep on spinning for the Avs. Therefore, it would be in the best interest of general managers to build the best team possible, not the best team for the head coach. Having coaches like Therrien and Roy are dangerous examples of putting the cart before the horse. The cart needs the horse to pull, not the other way around. For this reason, Avalanche fans shouldn’t worry. Sakic will hire a coach that fits his current cast of players and they will be a better team because of it.

On the other hand, the road ahead of the Habs is clouded with uncertainty. Watching the Canadiens over the past four seasons has proven to me that waiting on Michel Therrien to adapt is an exercise in futility.

And if the Habs struggle this season and no changes are made, the same can be said about Marc Bergevin.

Follow Ian on Twitter @BoisvertIan