Patrick Roy took a moment to inspect the rafters of Ball Arena after stepping onto the ice for the first time as opposing coach Monday morning.

Roy saw the banners he was instrumental in, including two Stanley Cup championships in 1996 and 2001 and eight consecutive division titles as a player, plus the surprise Central Division crown that earned him the Jack Adams Award in the first of his career . three years as a coach. His eyes also caught all the banners that had been put up since he left.

The greatest goaltender in franchise history returned as coach of the New York Islanders for the first time on Monday evening. The coach who started off flourishing but then quit just before what would have been his fourth season in charge was not.

“If I go back in time, I wish I would have done things differently back then,” Roy said of his coaching tenure with the Avalanche. “I don’t think I had enough respect for the position of coach. I think I learned a lot from it. I think this makes me the coach I am today.

“Do I have any regrets? No, because it makes me who I am today, and I think I’m in a much better place today than I was then: more respect for the position, more appreciation for being back in the league and working in the league.

Roy is in his first full season with the Islanders. He arrived in January 2024 and helped New York reach the playoffs after being ranked 11th in the Eastern Conference standings the day he was hired.

One Islanders veteran said Roy brings the same energy to an October morning skate as he does to a Stanley Cup Playoffs game. Anthony Duclair, who played for Roy with the Quebec Remparts, said a phone call from his former coach was the biggest reason he signed with the Islanders this season.

“A few more gray hairs, but that’s it,” Duclair said of what has changed. “His passion, his intensity has not wavered at all. I think he got smarter from his experience in Colorado and then going back to juniors.

When Roy resigned on August 11, 2016, the Avs found themselves in a dangerous position as the start of the season was just weeks away. They had missed the playoffs the previous two seasons and going through the process of hiring a new coach in August is never ideal.

Jared Bednar was home in South Carolina, spending the last few days of his offseason with family before preparing to return to Cleveland for his job as AHL coach. His plans changed. The Avs hired him two weeks later and have since become one of the most successful franchises in the NHL.

“I probably owe him a big hug and a steak dinner,” said Bednar, who has never met Roy. “Everyone does what’s right for them, but it just opened up a unique opportunity.”

It’s going to be a big night for the fans at Ball Arena, a chance to welcome back one of their heroes… and enough time passes to not focus on how the coaching stint ended. It’s also a big game for both clubs, who start the evening winless.

Roy said, just like when he returned to Montreal with the Islanders last season, it will be all business before the game.

“We all know what’s at stake,” Duclair said. “We know it’s a big game for him. It’s not a conversation we should talk about openly. … Everyone knows what the deal is. We’re looking for our first win, and what better way to do that than in Colorado for him?