The Islanders have fired Patrick Roy and replaced him with Peter DeBoer, marking the second time in as many weeks an NHL head coach was fired with his team in or on the edge of playoff position — the Golden Knight fired Bruce Cassidy with the team securely in third place in the Pacific Division.
The Islanders have lost four games in a row, but are just one point out of the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, with 89 points, which is also one point out of third place in the Metropolitan Division with four games remaining. However, the teams they trail — Philadelphia and Ottawa — each have a game in hand.
Roy, 60, was hired midseason to take over for Lane Lambert in 2024, pushing the team to a playoff spot — third in the Metro — but lost in the first round to the Hurricanes. The team missed the playoffs last season but were primed for a return before this recent skid, losing seven of the last 10.
My take: Seriously? DeBoer's an experienced head coach, to say the least, but with four games left? It's not like he gets to come in and have a week of practice to install a system. Whatever.
THE ASYLUM
Isles fire Roy, tab DeBoer
The Islanders have fired Patrick Roy and replaced him with Peter DeBoer, marking the second time in as many weeks an NHL head coach was fired with his team in or on the edge of playoff position — the Golden Knight fired Bruce Cassidy with the team securely in third place in the Pacific Division.
The Islanders have lost four games in a row, but are just one point out of the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, with 89 points, which is also one point out of third place in the Metropolitan Division with four games remaining. However, the teams they trail — Philadelphia and Ottawa — each have a game in hand.
Roy, 60, was hired midseason to take over for Lane Lambert in 2024, pushing the team to a playoff spot — third in the Metro — but lost in the first round to the Hurricanes. The team missed the playoffs last season but were primed for a return before this recent skid, losing seven of the last 10.
My take: Seriously? DeBoer's an experienced head coach, to say the least, but with four games left? It's not like he gets to come in and have a week of practice to install a system. Whatever.
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