As long as hockey is played, there will be certain undeniable facts, and one of them is that Patrick Roy was one of the finest goaltenders to play the game, and perhaps the finest of all. Roy’s game was exciting to watch, from his storybook rookie season with the Montreal Canadians back in 1985-86 straight through his retirement nearly 20 years later. But though he will be remembered for his amazing career, he will also be remembered for something less prestigious.

Another one of those undeniable facts was that Patrick Roy was an extremely cocky and selfish individual and it showed throughout his career. His personal disputes with head coach Mario Tremblay in Montreal sent him to Colorado over playing time in a game where Roy had let in 9 goals on 26 shots during an 11-1 loss. In the 1998 Nagano Olympic Games, Roy refused to share time with Martin Brodeur and went 4-2 as Canada failed to win a medal. Some of the most visible instances of character were his outright love of fighting on a moments notice. Many may remember Roy charging to center ice on two separate occasions during the years of the Red Wings and Avalanche rivalry, to challenge Mike Vernon and Chris Osgood, respectively. Roy ended up on his back on both occasions.

Roy now coaches the Quebec Ramparts of the QMJHL, who found themselves in an all-out brawl a few weeks ago against the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. Roy’s son Jonathan was in net for the Ramparts, and while 10 skaters wrestled around the rink he began to charge to center ice only to be held back by an official. He tried again and again, finally succeeding as he slipped by the referee as his attention was diverted to another fight. Roy then proceeded to skate the entire length of the ice where he stopped in front of Sagueneens goalie Bobby Nadeau. Roy ripped Nadeau’s mask off and began throwing blows until he fell to the ice where he continued to pound on the helpless goalie. After the two were separated, Roy was escorted off the ice where he gave the finger to fans booing him in the crowd.

In the footage, it is obvious that Nadeau had no intention of fighting, which means that Roy broke one of the cardinal rules of hockey fighting: you don’t fight somebody who doesn’t want to fight you. Roy downright attacked Nadeau like a street thug. Another rule broken was once the fight is over, it’s over. Once Nadeau had fallen to the ground, Roy kept the beating going, continuing to throw his fists as Nadeau tried to protect himself.

After making an obscene gesture to the crowd as he was kicked out of the game, it was evident that Jonathan Roy was like school on a Saturday…no class. And what makes this situation particularly sad is the fact that Roy is a bottom dweller in the QMJHL with a 3-10 record and a 3.96 GAA, and was taking a beating himself in his team’s 10-1 loss. Meanwhile, Nadeau was leading the QMJHL with a 2.63 goals against average through 46 games.

The father-son connection has pretty much made itself at this point, and least with regard to behavior, and was only made more clear by the fact that that Patrick appeared to signal his son to rush the ice.

In response to the incident, the QMJHL suspended Jonathan for seven games and Patrick for five. The Remparts went on to win the series four games to two, and now face off with Gatineau in the next round. Roy could conceivably return to action, and with he father as coach it is more than plausible, but only time will tell how far the Roys will go this season.

In a press conference, Roy apologized for his behavior to the crowd, but not for the fight, saying "I want to take this opportunity to apologize for my comments and gestures toward Chicoutimi hockey fans as well as people who saw me and heard me on television. You will never see me behave like that again."

It's quite discouraging that Roy failed to apologize for his unjustifiable and vicious attack on another player (Nadeau). Fighting is a part of hockey. It always has been and probably always will be. But viciously attacking other players is not. It is players like Jonathan Roy who give hockey a bad name.

Fortunately, it looks like Roy will probably not have a great deal of impact on the hockey world beyond this, as it seems he inherited his father's hotheadedness, but not his remarkable ability to stop the puck.