After a slow start to the season, the New York Islanders made a shocking move on their bench Saturday afternoon.
The team announced the firing of head coach Lane Lambert, but the big surprise was the naming of legendary goaltender Patrick Roy as his replacement.
The Islanders reached the Eastern Conference Finals in both 2020 and 2021, and were widely regarded as an up-and-coming team when they were one win away from advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in the latter seasons. They both lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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Patrick Roy, No. 33 of the Colorado Avalanche, tries to score against the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at Air Canada Center on October 10, 1999 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Greig Abel/Getty Images)
However, they missed the playoffs in their first season at the state-of-the-art UBS Arena.
The Isles had a rocky season last season, but lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in six games in the first round.
New York is currently the No. 6 seed in the Metropolitan Division and is currently looking to make the playoffs.
The Islanders have struggled with injuries, especially on defense. Adam Pelech is on long-term IR and Matt Martin is out for six weeks.
However, forward Casey Zikas is currently out with a lower-body injury, and reserve goalkeeper Semyon Varlamakh is putting pressure on Ilya Sorokin to perform even better. (He leads the NHL in saves, but he also leads the NHL in shots.)
Roy was the former Colorado Avalanche coach from 2013 to 2016, and before that he was widely regarded as the best goaltender in NHL history. There are still some who argue that he is better than Martin Brodeur.
Colorado Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy stands behind the bench during the 2016 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game against the Detroit Red Wings at Coors Field on February 27, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. . (Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)
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Roy won four Stanley Cups, two with both the Montreal Canadiens and Avalanche. He retired with a record of 551 wins, 315 losses, and 131 losses, the most wins in NHL history. (He was then passed by Brodeur and Marc-Andre Fleury.)
The Hall of Famer won the Conn Smythe Trophy three times (MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs), won the Vezina Trophy (best goaltender) three times, and was selected as an All-Star 11 times.
Patrick Roy, #33 of the Montreal Canadiens, plays defense against the Boston Bruins during an NHL hockey game at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1995. Roy's playing career spanned from 1984 to 2003. (Focus on Sports/Getty Images)
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Roy's NHL head coaching record is 130-92-24. He was named NHL Coach of the Year in 2013-14, his first season as a coach.
Roy has been the head coach of the Quebec Remperts of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) since 2018. This was his second time with the team, which had a combined record of 524 wins and 255 losses in his 13 seasons with the team. 66.
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