You know things are getting bad for the New York Islanders when they have to make a change this late in the season. At one point the Islanders were riding high and looked like they’d be sitting comfortably to make the playoffs. Now, they have hit the skids. A four game losing streak and losing seven of the last ten games has caused a major change. Patrick Roy was relieved of his duties as the team head coach, being replaced by longtime NHL coach Peter DeBoer.
There’s a lot to unpack with all of this. This isn’t the first time that a coaching change has been made this late in the season for a team that could be bound for the playoffs. The Vegas Golden Knights already did that this year, replacing Bruce Cassidy with John Tortorella. Vegas is sitting in 3rd in the Pacific Division at the time of the move and this writing. It happened in 2000 with the New Jersey Devils when they fired Robbie Ftorek with nine games remaining, replacing him with Larry Robinson. The Devils went on to win the Cup that year, and that’s a very different situation and team than what both the Islanders and Vegas have right now.
Now then, as for the Islanders with Roy out and DeBoer coming in. Roy came in mid season in 2024, replacing Lane Lambert as the Isles head coach. He lasted on Long Island parts of three seasons. When he took over in 2024 he helped guide the Islanders into the playoffs, where they got bounced by Carolina in the first round. Then last year, in a full season, the Islanders finished at .500, with a 35-35-12 record and missed the playoffs. This year, at the time of his firing, he was 42-31-5 and in 4th in the Metropolitan Division and outside of the playoffs at the time of this writing. He finished his tenure with the Islanders having a record of 97-78-22 in 197 games coached.
Now the big question, why make the move this late? The eye test tells you everything you need to know. Sure, injuries have taken their tole this late in the year. Kyle Palmari and Alex Ramonav being out for most of the year has played a factor. And we can add in some of the questionable moves by new GM Mathieu Darche late in the year as a factor as well. Let’s be realistic Brayden Schenn and Ondrej Palat haven’t really been living up to expectations up from and Carson Soucy hasn’t been as good on the back end, but that’s another argument for another time. The last couple of games, the entire Islanders team has looked lost and played uninspired hockey. They are playing flat, missing assignments in their defensive end and getting no real offensive pressure at the other end of the ice. It’s tough to watch. Now sure, you can’t replace the players, that’s not possible. But Roy seemed to lose the team in that no matter what he did, he wasn’t able to get them motivated to play better and actually show up on the ice.
Maybe management is hoping for something better with Peter DeBoer taking over. This is the 6th coaching job DeBoer has had in the NHL, having coached with the Panthers, Devils, Sharks, Golden Knights and Stars. He’s only missed the playoffs 5 times during his coaching career. But this is coming into a different situation. He’s taking over a team that has four games left, and at time of this writing is sitting a point out of not only the final wild card spot in the East, but 3rd place in the Metropolitan Division. Getting second in the division is a lot harder to be able to catch. But 3rd in the division and the final wild card spot are still a possibility. A lot still has to fall right for the Islanders to even have a chance at playing hockey come playoffs. First things first, they basically have to either win out or get points in every one of their final four games. Last four games are all at home to end the season, hosting Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Carolina. They also need help from the Flyers and even a team they play in the Senators losing down the stretch.
There’s a lot of factors in play as to whether or not the Islanders get in. Maybe this coaching change will help get them over the hump. Or maybe its too little too late.
No comments:
Post a Comment