The New York Islanders have made a surprising coaching change on Easter Sunday, with four games remaining in their regular-season schedule, firing Patrick Roy and replacing him with Pete DeBoer.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the move was not a “rest-of-season” hire.
Even with the Islanders in a playoff spot and in third place in the Metropolitan Division, GM Mathieu Darche and the rest of the team’s brass didn’t feel safe.
Though the Isles have a 42-31-5 record and 89 points in 78 games, they were in the midst of a four-game losing streak and a rough end to the month of March.
Roy was in his third season as the Islanders’ bench boss and was having his best season yet in Long Island. However, DeBoer has found a new home after being let go by the Dallas Stars last off-season.
DeBoer has been a successful head coach in the NHL. While he hasn’t been able to get his hands on a Stanley Cup yet, he’s seen several conference final appearances.
In his three years with Dallas, he helped his team advance to the Western Conference final in each of those three campaigns.
Before the Stars, he was the head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights and was successful with them in the regular season and postseason. He guided Vegas to two Pacific Division championships and a pair of conference finals (semifinal appearance in the case of the 2020-21 season).
Roy, a former Jack Adams Trophy winner, was in his sixth season as an NHL coach. He had a previous tenure with the Colorado Avalanche before his stint with the Islanders. He lasted three years with the Avs from 2013-14 and 2015-16.
Roy joins Bruce Cassidy, who was the coach of the Golden Knights, but was fired on March 30, making way for John Tortorella. Vegas had eight games remaining in its regular season when it made that coaching change.
Like the Islanders’ timing of parting ways with Roy, the Golden Knights were also third in their division when making the decision.
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