Playoff Brawl

I'm quite certain that hockey fans everywhere, specifically in Detroit and Denver, remember this scene to the left. Patrick Roy fought Mike Vernon following the Claude Lemieux hit that seriously injured Kris Draper. Roy also fought Chris Osgood, but it remains significant as it showed the intensity that Patrick Roy brought to the rink every night. Roy was never one to shy away from controversy, and he found himself in the middle of another brawl on Saturday in the second game of the QMJHL playoff series between the Quebec Remparts and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens.

However, the fighter in this brawl wasn't Patrick, but his son, Jonathan, who plays net for the Remparts. The Remparts are coached by the senior Roy.

With the Sagueneens leading the game 7-1 over the Remparts, fights began to break out near the end of the second period. I'm going to recommend you kill the sound, unless you like listening to loud static since the audio is all static. However, let's go to the videotape:

Jonathan Roy, #30, in red. My thoughts are below.

At the one-minute mark, you see Roy skate from his net and signal to Bobby Nadeau that they should engage. Nadeau, knowing his team is up 7-1, clearly has no interest in fighting Roy. However, at the 1:01 mark, you see Jonathan Roy look at the bench, and then he snaps.

What happened, you ask? According to reports, his father and coach, Patrick Roy, told his son to go after Nadeau. Roy, as you watched, skated the length of the ice and pummeled Nadeau, even when Nadeau was on the ice. After flipping the bird to the Sagueneens crowd, he then fought defenceman Sebastien Rioux. Roy received a game misconduct for his actions.

Excuse my language here, but what the hell is wrong with the Roy family?

Look, I get that pride runs deep in the Roy household. No one likes being embarassed in a 7-1 game. I'll even listen to the argument that this brawl will solidify a dressing room; that standing up for your teammates in a brawl shows support for everyone else on the bench. However, I will not believe that what Jonathan Roy did falls under either category since he engaged a player who had no interest in fighting, and then rained blow after blow down on him after Nadeau was on the ice.

To make matters worse, he then disrespects the game by giving the fans in attendance the finger. As unfathomable as it is, Patrick and Jonathan have not only brought a black mark upon themselves, but the entire Remparts team. This isn't some gladiator war in the Colosseum. This isn't a pro wrestling match. This is a hockey game.

Again, people will claim it to be war since these teams are battling for their playoff lives. There is no excuse, however, for what Jonathan Roy did, and there is absolutely everything wrong with what Patrick Roy did in ordering his son to skate down the ice. While I realize that there is a fierce rivalry between these two teams, Patrick and Jonathan Roy just took it to a sickening level.

According to a statement on the QMJHL website, "[t]he Commissioner of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Gilles Courteau, and the disciplinary committee will review the incidents which occurred over the course of the first few playoff games and will make an announcement as to fines and suspensions Monday evening, if necessary."

If necessary? Are you kidding me? Patrick and Jonathan Roy should both be suspended for the length of the first-round of the QMJHL playoffs at a minimum. Also, the Remparts should be fined for Patrick Roy's actions. These kinds of actions cannot be tolerated or accepted in the game of hockey. If Nadeau had been seriously hurt, the Sagueneens would have lost one of their best players.

Watching this kind of stuff in junior hockey makes me wonder how NHL teams judge players in terms of their draft eligibility. Would you want Jonathan Roy on your team after seeing something like this? Despite all his talent, I think I'd take a pass. After all, your starting goaltender is useless sitting in the press box, especially if he put himself there with actions as disgusting and stupid as these were.

Take a long look in the mirror, Patrick Roy. Your players are a reflection of you.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!