Amid a sluggish begin to the season, the New York Islanders made a surprising transfer with their bench Saturday afternoon.
The group introduced that they’d fired head coach Lane Lambert, however the large shock was that they named legendary goalie Patrick Roy as his alternative.
The Islanders had been extensively thought to be an up-and-coming group once they made the Jap Convention Ultimate in each 2020 and 2021, being only one win away from reaching the Stanley Cup Ultimate within the latter season. They misplaced each instances to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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Patrick Roy, #33 of the Colorado Avalanche, tends aim towards the Toronto Maple Leafs throughout NHL recreation motion on October 10, 1999, at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Graig Abel/Getty Photographs)
However of their first season on the state-of-the-art UBS Enviornment, they missed the playoffs.
The Isles had been capable of squeak in final season with an up-and-down marketing campaign, however they dropped to the Carolina Hurricanes in six video games within the first spherical.
Now, New York is the sixth seed within the Metropolitan Division, presently on the skin trying into the playoff image.
The Islanders have struggled with accidents, notably on the defensive finish. Adam Pelech is on long-term IR, and Matt Martin missed six weeks.
However ahead Casey Cizikas is presently out with a lower-body damage, and backup goalie Semyon Varlamaov has put strain on Ilya Sorokin to carry out even higher. (He does lead the NHL in saves, but in addition leads in pictures confronted.)
Roy beforehand coached his former Colorado Avalanche from 2013 to 2016, however earlier than that, he was extensively thought to be the perfect goalie in NHL historical past. Some nonetheless argue that he’s higher than Martin Brodeur.
Head coach Patrick Roy of the Colorado Avalanche stands behind his bench through the recreation towards the Detroit Purple Wings on the 2016 Coors Mild NHL Stadium Collection at Coors area on February 27, 2016, in Denver, Colorado. (Michael Martin/NHLI by way of Getty Photographs)
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Roy received 4 Stanley Cup, two with each the Montreal Canadiens and Avalanche. He retired with a 551-315-131 report, then essentially the most wins in NHL historical past. (He has since been surpassed by Brodeur and Marc-Andre Fleury.)
The Corridor of Famer was a three-time Conn Smythe Trophy winner (MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs), received three Vezina Trophies (greatest goalie) and was named an All-Star 11 instances.
Patrick Roy, #33 of the Montreal Canadiens, defends towards the Boston Bruins throughout an NHL Hockey recreation circa 1995 on the Boston Backyard in Boston, Massachusetts. Roy’s enjoying profession went from 1984 to 2003. (Give attention to Sport/Getty Photographs)
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Roy’s NHL head-coaching report stands at 130-92-24. He was named the NHL’s Coach of the Yr in 2013-14, his first season as a coach.
Roy had beforehand been the pinnacle coach of the Quebec Remperts of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey Leeague (QMJHL) since 2018. It was his second stint with the group, and in 13 mixed seasons with them, he owned a report of 524-255-66.
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