General manager Lou Lamoriello of the New York Islanders announced today that Lane Lambert has been relieved of his coaching responsibilities. Patrick Roy has been named the team’s head coach. While the firing does not come as a shock, the hiring of Roy does.
Lambert has earned mixed reactions from fans since his hiring. After Barry Trotz left the team in a peculiar circumstance, he had big shoes to fill. He had a 61-46-20 record as head coach, losing in six games to the Carolina Hurricanes in his one playoff appearance. While the record does not seem too bad, it is evident he lost the locker room, resulting in blown lead after blown lead. His obscure lineup decisions are also likely to have led to this decision.
Roy the Leader Moving Forward
Roy has previously coached for the Colorado Avalanche where he had a 130-92-24 record over three full seasons with the team. His first season came with great success, winning the Jack Adams Trophy as well as the Central Division before losing in the first round. The following two seasons ended with sixth and seventh-place finishes within the division.
With coaching options such as Craig Berube, Jay Woodcroft, and Bruce Boudreau, Roy seems like a candidate who came out of left field. However, he is coming off of the 2023 Memorial Cup championship with the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, and he is one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of the NHL. The idea behind the hiring may be to get star goaltender Ilya Sorokin back to his Vezina-finalist self, as well as help defensemen Adam Pelech and Scott Mayfield get back to where they need to be.
Related: Islanders First Half Report Cards
Islanders fans will not have to wait long to see Roy as he is expected to be behind the bench tomorrow (Jan. 21) for the team’s matchup against the Dallas Stars. With the Islanders currently sitting in sixth in the Metropolitan Division, he will have his work cut out for him to get the team back into a wild card spot.
