Good Afternoon, Islanders Country.
Whoa. The news delivered something both expected and not expected.
After last night’s 4-3 OT to Chicago, Lane Lambert said the Islanders needed a jolt from within. GM Lou Lamoriello disagreed.
The jolt came in relieving Lambert of his head coaching duties and hiring a Hall-of-Fame goaltender and former Jack Adams Award winner, Patrick Roy, the team’s new head coach.
Per the team’s press release, Roy served as the Head Coach of the Quebec Remparts last season and won the Memorial Cup Championship and the QMJHL Championship. He previously coached the Colorado Avalanche for three seasons (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16). He finished with a record of 130-92-24 and won the Jack Adams Award in 2013-14 as NHL Coach of the Year.
The change is more seismic than subtle.
Roy was known as one of the most fiercely competitive players throughout his career, and that carried over behind the bench as he made a fiery first impression as coach of the Avs. Roy’s temperament and intensity helped jumpstart the struggling franchise and led them to a 112-point season in 2013-14.
He’s outspoken and brash. He defends his players but won’t tolerate them giving their all every shift. Ultimately, things flamed out with Colorado, and disagreements with the front office led to his resignation two months before the start of the 2016-17 season.
This might not be a move for the long haul, but few coaches last 5 or 10 years anymore. Roy's hiring is a drastic move for a team that needs to drastically change the course of its season to make the playoffs. What happens after that is anyone else’s guess, but things just got a whole lot more interesting.
There are 37 games left in the regular season, and the Islanders are close enough in the standings to make a push that results in a playoff berth.
Lamoriello waited as long as he could for Lambert to turn things around, making the margin of error for Roy and the struggling team he inherited small but not insurmountable, starting tomorrow night vs. Dallas.
And we leave you with this…Roy being awarded the 1986 Conn Smythe Trophy.
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