The Patrick Roy era on Long Island started with a bang. He was hired on Jan. 20 with the New York Islanders coming off a disastrous road trip and his presence has been noticeable from the first practice. For the first time since the early years of the Barry Trotz era, the Islanders look like they have a head coach the players are willing to rally behind.
The Islanders fired Lane Lambert and immediately hired Roy to send shockwaves around the NHL. The move brings the Hall of Fame goaltender back to the NHL for his second stint as a head coach. He coached the Colorado Avalanche from 2014-16 and recently led the Quebec Remparts in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), helping them win the Memorial Cup in 2023.
Related: Islanders Fire Lambert Midseason: Why Lamoriello Pulled the Plug
The question is what does Roy bring to the Islanders? The hiring provides optimism but what are the attributes he’ll provide behind the bench and more importantly, is his coaching going to be enough to turn this season around? Blain Potvin, who covers the Montreal Canadiens and the QMJHL for The Hockey Writers, provided some insight into Roy’s style and what his previous teams looked like.
Roy’s Intensity & Passion
Shortly after Roy was hired, the video of his altercation with former Anaheim Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau surfaced. In the clip, Roy is seen pushing the glass and preparing himself to fight with the opposing head coach as the final horn sounds on a 6-1 Avalanche victory.
The scene shows Roy as a coach who can be a loose cannon and not the ideal type of coach to have behind the bench. Every coach preaches disciplined play but it’s another thing to lead by example, this clip is the opposite of that. At the same time, it shows his passion as a coach. Without question, he will motivate his roster and bring out the best in his team.
The Islanders need a coach who brings the fire and energy, someone they can rally behind and play up to. Under Lambert, the team played without that passion for the game which made Roy a legend of hockey and one of the greatest to play the game. He played at a different level than most and is hoping to coach that way as well.
The intensity will be there and the Islanders will look like a different team but it shouldn’t come at the cost of disciplined play. Moreover, Roy must change how the team looks on the ice, leading to the next attribute he’ll bring.
On Ice Discipline
With the Remparts, Roy made sure the defense kept the puck away from the goaltender and protected the net. When the team created turnovers, they wouldn’t carelessly move the puck up the ice and instead, they’d prevent the opposition from finding easy scoring chances. The Islanders used to be a team carried by a great defense, allowing under 2.90 goals per game every season from 2018-19 until last season. Now, the defense is one of their biggest weaknesses as they allow 3.36 goals per game.
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On top of the defensive zone adjustments, Roy’s teams would play with a purpose, specifically, preventing teams from finding easy scoring chances the other way. The Islanders might not be as aggressive of a team on the offensive end of the ice or the rush but they will be strong on the defensive end of the ice. For skaters like Alexander Romanov, this change will turn him into an elite defenseman as he will start to play with more structure in the defensive zone and eliminate opponents in the neutral zone without allowing scoring chances the other way.
The Islanders were a mess under Lambert and an undisciplined group. Not only did they make too many mistakes but the errors would cost them. Roy will have the team looking a lot like the Vegas Golden Knights did a season ago, where they played disciplined, situational hockey to help them win the Stanley Cup title.
Roy Adds Versatility
The Remparts faced a star-studded Seattle Thunderbirds team in the 2023 Memorial Cup Final, a team that featured some of the best young prospects in the game including Kevin Korchinski, Lucas Ciona, and Nico Myatovic. The Thunderbirds looked like a team poised to win the Final as a send-off for many of the skaters on the roster who would be in the NHL in a few years.
The Final was one-sided as the Remparts won the round-robin game 3-1 and stomped the Thunderbirds 5-0 in the Final. The game itself was reflective of Roy’s ability to adjust and adapt to the situation, something he did throughout his tenure in the QMJHL. Not only did he bring out the best in his roster but he’d change the team’s style of play based on their opponent. For the Thunderbirds specifically, he used their aggression against them and gashed them with multiple rush chances to run up the score.
It takes time for Roy to make his adjustments but when he does, his teams are tough to stop. The Islanders have a roster where it’s clear which skaters should play a fast-paced style while others slow the game down and use their forechecking to their advantage. The Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat line will still beat teams with speed but Cal Clutterbuck and Julien Gauthier will chip the puck into the offensive zone and create turnovers with hard hits along the boards.
One of the Islanders’ biggest issues in recent seasons was versatility or lack thereof. They couldn’t adapt to the opponent or the situation at hand and it cost them. Specifically, their first round series against the Carolina Hurricanes saw them struggle to adjust to a versatile opponent and it caused them to lose the series in six games. With Roy, the team can adapt and it not only allows the Islanders to turn this season around but possibly make a deep playoff run if they make it to the playoffs.
Roy’s Help With Sorokin
Roy is not a goaltending coach and doesn’t have any guidance when it comes to techniques. However, his career can help guide Ilya Sorokin, the Islanders’ elite goaltender who is having a rough season in the net. Roy won the Vezina Trophy three times and the Stanley Cup four times in his 19-year career with the Avalanche and Montreal Canadiens. He understands an elite goaltender like Sorokin more than most could and along with helping him with how the team will look on the ice, he can mentor a goaltender who is going through a rough patch.
What Might Cause Roy’s Downfall
Roy’s only stint in the NHL is with the Avalanche and it was underwhelming to put it lightly. The team finished the 2013-14 season with the best record in the Central Division but the following two seasons, they were near the bottom of the division and a non-competitive roster. On top of that, Jared Bednar took over for Roy ahead of the 2016-17 season and he’s kept the team competitive since, ironically, with a cool, calm, and steady presence behind the bench.
His QMJHL resume is more impressive but the leap to the NHL is a big one and it usually leaves head coaches overwhelmed. Roy won’t have the same room to work with at the NHL level and the Islanders for the most part will remain the same. He can’t bring in new talent and the prospect pool is one of the worst in the league. He’ll have to turn around this roster and there aren’t a lot of avenues to bring in new faces.
This leads to the next issue for Roy. The roster is still a mess and if they continue to struggle, his grip on the team will start to loosen. General manager (GM) Lou Lamoriello hasn’t set up Roy for success and it will take a few moves to help turn this season around. Otherwise, the Islanders might be looking at a clean sweep starting with the front office and moving down to the roster itself.