Just over a month ago, Colorado Avs goaltender Patrick Roy walked away from the game he had dominated. No regrets, no desire to play again. No plans to pull a Dominator.

That was before he could have Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne in front of him. But according to the man who had been with Roy for most of his career, that won't make a difference now.

Avalanche general manager Pierre Lacroix tried to quash any speculation of a Roy unretirment on Thursday following the announcement of the Kariya and Selanne signings.

"It won't happen," Lacroix said. "I've known Patrick for 20 years and he made the decision with deep reflection. He made it clear to me: This is it for him in hockey."

One of Roy's key rivals, Dominik Hasek, retired in 2002 but wanted to come back this year and had his option picked up by Detroit, his former team. If Roy were to come back, he would play for the Avs. If he doesn't, the new Avs are happy with who they have.

"David Aebischer is a fantastic goalie. He's studied under Patrick for three years," said Kariya, who just left a top-notch netminder in Jean-Sebastien Giguere. "I'm sure he'll be a fantastic goalie. At the same time, I hope we'll be able to give him a lot of leeway up front."

When Roy retired, there was some question of who would fill his spot. The Avs have two goalies in the minors, Phil Sauve and Peter Budaj, who could be starters in upcoming years. But it appears Aebischer will have his chance to start at the beginning of this season.

"We're unanimous in the support we're giving David Aebischer," Lacroix said. "He'll get the opportunity to show us he can or cannot carry the flag. And there's no question in our mind that he can."

And — apparently — no question Patrick Roy will stay retired.

Reinprecht a Sabre

Not long after the Avs announced the signing of Kariya and Selanne, they also announced they shipped center Steven Reinprecht to Buffalo for defenseman Keith Ballard. Reinprecht was then sent, with Rhett Warrener, to Calgary for former Av Chris Drury.

Reinprecht was shipped to clear roster and salary space with the addition of Kariya and Selanne.

He wasn't in Colorado long after being traded from Los Angeles in February 2001 along with Rob Blake. While with Colorado, Reinprecht scored 40 goals and compiled 64 assists.

Ballard was drafted as a junior at Minnesota and scored 12 goals and had 29 assists for the national champion Gophers last season.