After less than two seasons, Lane Lambert is out as coach of the New York Islanders, with the club announcing Saturday it has hired Patrick Roy behind the bench.
Firing Lambert comes as the Islanders have struggled to find consistency while also trying to remain in the playoff hunt. The Islanders (19-15-11) entered Saturday two points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the final wild-card spot in what has become a crowded Eastern Conference landscape.
Even though the Islanders are two points out of a wild-card spot, they have lost four straight games, which is the NHL’s longest active losing streak. The Islanders have only won twice in their past 10 games.
“Watching our team play, I felt that the inconsistency that has been going on for some period of time was not going to end,” New York president of hockey operations and general manager Lou Lamoriello said on a video call with reporters. “When I had the opportunity to meet with Patrick recently, I felt that this was the best for our organization to go forward.”
Hiring Roy allows the Hall of Fame goaltender return to an NHL bench for the first time since the 2015-16 season, when he coached the Colorado Avalanche for three seasons. Roy won the Jack Adams Award in his first season after he led the Avs to the playoffs, only to miss the postseason in his final two campaigns.
“His presence is extremely aggressive,” Lamoriello said. “I thought he was the right person for the job.”
Roy, who had been coaching the Quebec Remparts in the QMJHL before he took the Avs job, returned to the Remparts’ bench at the start of the 2018-19 season. The Remparts reached the playoffs in four of their five seasons under Roy, with the 2019-20 playoffs being cancelled because of the pandemic.
Leave a Reply