Roy

"All I know is I won't be traded until at least Jan. 1," Roy was quoted as saying in The Denver Post on Monday.

Roy's no-trade clause expires at the end of December, and Colorado is intent on giving regular work to backup goalie Marc Denis. For the first time since 1991, Roy expects to start fewer than 70 percent of his team's games.

"I am not stupid," Roy said. "I see things."

Roy is in position to break the NHL career record for victories this season. He is 30 shy of the record of 447.

Roy, who has tracked slap shots for 15 professional seasons, said he understands that no hockey club can afford to keep two premier goalies for long.

"I know by the end of the season, this organization is going to have to make a decision on its goaltenders," he said.

Roy signed a contract in January paying him $7 million for the 1999-2000 season and $7.5 million in 2000-2001. He could have become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

"I am very happy in Colorado," he said. "I love the fans. I love the city. That's why I wanted a no-trade clause. But the club did not want to give me a no-trade clause for the entire contract. I can respect that."

The Avalanche payroll is a daunting $46 million. With Roy, Denis and David Aebischer -- a hot goalie prospect in the organization's minor-league system -- the Avs are at risk of being dangerously overexposed in an expansion draft next spring that will stock two new NHL franchises.

"If they don't decide to trade a goaltender, they're going to have to let one of us go in expansion," Roy says. "And I understand that will be a tough decision."

He has led both the Montreal Canadiens and Avalanche to Stanley Cup victories and is a strong candidate for the Hall of Fame after retirement.

Denis was Colorado's first-round, draft pick in 1995.