In 2004, Roy was selected as the greatest goaltender in NHL history by a panel of 41 writers, coupled with a simultaneous fan poll.

[15] Roy kept playing for the Granby Bisons of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) before being called up by the Canadiens.

Despite the thoughts that he was not going to play for the team, on February 23, 1985, he made his NHL debut when he replaced the Canadiens' starting goaltender, Doug Soetaert, in the game's third period.

[12][17] Nicknamed St. Patrick after the victory, Roy continued playing for the Canadiens, who won the Adams Division in 1987–88 and in 1988–89, when they lost to the Calgary Flames in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Roy, together with Brian Hayward, won the William M. Jennings Trophy in 1987, 1988, and 1989, as the Canadiens regularly allowed the fewest goals against.

Despite the successful regular season, the Canadiens were swept in the second round by the Boston Bruins, who stopped their playoff run for the fourth time in five years.

Roy had led his team, which did not have a player that finished in the top twenty regular season scoring, to the Stanley Cup championship and was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner.

Roy was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, finishing third in voting behind winner Dominik Hašek and runner-up John Vanbiesbrouck.

[21] Four games into the 1995–96 season, Mario Tremblay was hired as Montreal's new head coach, replacing Jacques Demers who had been fired.

[23] Roy allowed nine goals on 26 shots, which was highly unusual, as star goaltenders are generally taken out of the game quickly when it is clear they are struggling.

Because of this unusual arrangement, an enraged Roy had no time to regain his composure before approaching the team's top brass who were in attendance and their usual seats.

[25] Four days after the incident, the Canadiens traded Roy and captain Mike Keane to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Ručinský and Andrei Kovalenko.

Canadiens General Manager Réjean Houle at the time had been GM for only 40 days and faced criticism for making the trade instead of trying to resolve the tension between Roy and Tremblay.

In the 1996 Western Conference Semifinals against the Chicago Blackhawks, Jeremy Roenick was stopped by Roy on a breakaway during overtime in Game 4, while being hauled down by Avalanche defenceman Sandis Ozolinsh.

The referee did not call for a penalty shot on the play and the Avalanche won in triple overtime on Joe Sakic's game-winning goal.

In the playoffs, his team advanced to the Finals, where they faced the defending champion New Jersey Devils, who were backstopped by Martin Brodeur, a star netminder who had idolized Roy as a child.

Roy played all six games, but Canada failed to win a medal after a shootout loss to the Czech Republic in the semifinal.

On January 19, 2007, Saguenay Police investigated an incident involving Roy and the co-owner of the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, Pierre Cardinal.

There were reports that Roy threw punches at the co-owner after he intervened to disperse a crowd of hockey fans that were blocking the Remparts' bus after a game between the two clubs.

Montreal newspaper Le Journal de Montréal reported that Roy later apologized to the victim via telephone.

[31][32] In a press conference following a Remparts game on January 21, 2007, Roy said that he was "suffering prejudice on the part of the media," and believed that he was not guilty of the incident.

[34][35] On March 22, 2008, in Chicoutimi, Quebec, Roy was involved in another on-ice incident during Game 2 of a first-round playoff series against the rival Saguenéens.

Frederick was ultimately suspended 15 games by the QMJHL for the incident, which occurred the night before Patrick Roy's jersey retirement ceremony in Montreal.

[citation needed] In January 2024, it was announced that Roy, in partnership with Canadian businessmen Jean Bédard and Jacques Tanguay (a former owner of the Remparts), had purchased a minority stake in Boxers de Bordeaux, a professional team playing in the French Ligue Magnus.

Before the season started, his former Avs teammate, Joe Sakic, was hired as Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations.

For his team's success, Roy won the Jack Adams Award for the NHL's top coach, winning the honour over the Detroit Red Wings' Mike Babcock and the Tampa Bay Lightning's Jon Cooper.

[46][47] During the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs, Roy became known for aggressively pulling goaltender Semyon Varlamov to set up a 6-on-5, empty-net scenario, sometimes with as much as three minutes remaining in the game.

On August 11, 2016, Roy, citing a lack of input in personnel decisions, stepped down as the head coach and vice-president of hockey operations for the Avalanche, and was subsequently replaced by Jared Bednar.

His sons, Frederick and Jonathan, played for the Quebec Remparts during Roy's tenure as head coach of the team.

[56] British Columbia-born baseball player and former American League MVP Justin Morneau wore number 33 in tribute to Roy.