Only three minutes into Saturday’s Lightning television pregame show, Andre Roy gobbled like a bird while explaining how he gets two Thanksgiving turkeys as a dual citizen.
Laughter ensued, and it continued throughout the entire three-hour broadcast.
Then again, that’s usually the case when Roy’s around. His quick wit was on display last week when the Stanley Cup champion joined the Tampa Bay Lightning television broadcast for a pair of games against the Minnesota Wild and New York Islanders.
“When I was a kid in class I liked to be the clown a little bit and have the class laughing, and in hockey I liked to bring that also in the locker room because it’s a long year,” he said. “Every day you’d have practices, meetings, and video sessions, and I think it's fun to have guys that bring a sense of humor. Obviously there's a time to be more serious, but it’s something I carried during my hockey years, and I think the guys enjoyed it. But I really think it comes naturally. I like to keep people laughing and have a good time.”
The NHL alum of 11 seasons and more than 500 games built a reputation of being one of the toughest players in the league. His 1,169 career penalty minutes prove that he wasn’t a player opposing teams wanted to talk with post-whistle, but he was a constant go-to for chatter within his own teams.
He also enjoyed speaking with members of the media. Roy said his locker was a frequent stop for reporters whenever Tampa played Montreal or other Canadian markets.
“Even here, whenever we played Montreal they would all come see me just to see if I had a quote that they could put in the paper or something funny, because they knew I could be that guy that brings the lighter side.”
He learned to enjoy those moments, and it led him to a career in hockey media after his final NHL game. Despite having an offer to play overseas, Roy decided to take his talents to the camera so he could stay connected to the sport in a new way.
It began with the occasional guest appearance on television and radio shows—some of which included Roy’s custom parody songs with a guitar—before he joined French Canadian media company RDS in 2014, covering fellow French Canadian hockey players and creating video content that included arena and locker room tours.
“Slowly I transitioned to talking hockey and a little bit of humor, and here I am today, anyways. But I didn't know what I was going to do after hockey, and it worked out with the media. I was always pretty easy to approach with all the media…I had to kind of make my spot, my move, and I did. It turned out okay for me, I guess.”
He continues to make appearances on RDS and multiple hockey podcasts, where his stories include on-ice experiences such as standing up for teammates as well as off-ice antics.
There were plenty of both in Tampa, as he helped the team secure the 2004 Stanley Cup and was a frequent prankster in and around the locker room.
The same personality that made him a team and fan favorite in Tampa returned this week in a new medium on the analyst desk.
“It was different, but it was fun,” he said. “The more I do, I will get better at it and probably be more relaxed because I was a little nervous because it's new and you don't know what to expect when you start doing something different. But it turned out good I think. The other guys were great, and I think once I'm really comfortable then I can bring more humor and start doing cartwheels in studio with Paul Kennedy and stuff like that.”
Roy hopes to return to Tampa in the future, which could mean more Lightning broadcast appearances.
It might take time, Roy said as he joked he could already have a home in Florida if he played on the top line or power play. Wherever it is, more time on camera will be in his future.
“You’ve gotta have fun in your work to keep your life loose…It's close to what I grew up with because I remember going to the rink to get comments from guys, and then you meet all kinds of guys that you played with, played against.
“On the media side, everybody knows each other from far away and the hockey world's small, so I like that side of it. It’s not easy because you’ve gotta prepare and read a lot, but that's a side of me where my whole career was around having fun and being around the media. So I feel like that transition has been easy for me to do.”
