ACHIEVING NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN LEVELS OF SUCCESS IN HIS CAREER, PATRICK ROY’S BUTTERFLY STYLE INFLUENCED A GENERATION OF GOALTENDERS WHO FOLLOWED IN HIS FOOTSTEPS.

Arguably the greatest goaltender in NHL history, Patrick Roy completely revolutionized the position by developing and refining the butterfly style throughout the late 1980s, with the help of goalie coach Francois Allaire. Their modifications to the technique subsequently influenced an entire generation of Quebec-trained goalies who went on to star in creases around the league.

Roy held several NHL goaltending records when he retired on May 28, 2003, including most wins (551), regular season games (1,029), playoff games (247) and playoff shutouts (23).

Drafted 51st overall by the Habs from Granby of the QMJHL in the third round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, Roy made the jump to the AHL at the end of his final junior season. He played one regular season game with the Sherbrooke Canadiens before helping lead Montreal's farm team to a Calder Cup title in the playoffs.

The 20-year-old goalie from Quebec City earned the nickname "St. Patrick" in 1985-86, as he led the Habs to the Stanley Cup while becoming the youngest player ever to claim the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Over the course of the following seasons, Roy continued his dominant play in front of the Canadiens' net while establishing himself as one of the league's top goalies. From 1986 through 1993 he amassed a collection of Jennings Trophies, as the Canadiens regularly allowed the fewest goals against. Roy also claimed the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender three times with the Habs. His superstitions and ticks became known throughout the league, particularly his insistence on stepping over the blue line as well as his habit of talking to his goalposts.

Widely known for his competitiveness and determination, Roy raised his game to another level when his play was criticized after the Canadiens lost the first two games of their 1992-93 playoff series against Quebec. Montreal won the next four games to eliminate the Nordiques and set off on a tear that led to the team's 24th Stanley Cup. Roy, who claimed his second Conn Smythe Trophy, and the Canadiens set an incredible playoff record in the process by winning 10 straight overtime games.

Roy made a heroic return to the crease against the Boston Bruins in the 1994 playoffs when he rejoined the team after he was hospitalized because of an emergency appendectomy.

His stellar career moved in a new direction in December 1995 when he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche along with Mike Keane in exchange for Jocelyn Thibault, Andrei Kovalenko and Martin Rucinsky. In his first playoffs in Denver, Roy helped lead the former Quebec Nordiques to the franchise's first Stanley Cup. He and his Avalanche teammates repeated the accomplishment in 2001 and Roy added an unprecedented third Conn Smythe Trophy.

In 2002-03, he became the first goalie in league history to reach the 1,000-game milestone. Over the course of his career, Roy appeared in 11 All-Star Games. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006, his first year of eligibility.

Already a co-owner of the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL, Roy added the titles of vice-president of hockey operations and general manager in 2003. He moved behind the bench in 2005-06, winning the Memorial Cup in his debut as the team's coach, a position he continues to hold.

On November 22, 2008, Patrick Roy joined the ranks of Canadiens immortals as his No. 33 is raised to the Bell Centre rafters. An icon for a generation of young goalies who emulated his trademark butterfly style, many of whom are represented by children during the ceremony, Roy makes his triumphant return to the Canadiens’ family in dramatic fashion, entering the building via its front doors and appearing at the top of the stairs at center ice to a thunderous standing ovation that lasts for over five minutes.