The islanders answered the biggest questions they had on the franchise on Tuesday, sending general manager Lula Moriello to go after he was in charge of seven seasons.
The first question for anyone replacing him is what to do with the coaching and hockey operations staff.
Coach Patrick Roy, assistants John McLean, Tommy Alberin, Benoit Desrosier and assistant general managers Steve Pellegrini and Chris Lamoriello are currently effective at Limbo.
A team spokesman confirmed in the post that Roy and other hockey management staff are planning to meet up with the new GM when someone is hired and goes from there.
Roy’s record as a head coach is mixed at best.
The infusion of energy he brought a year ago helped the islanders run into the playoffs, but his first full season behind the bench failed to take over, with a 35-35-12 record and a season-ending explosion in which the islanders missed the playoffs.
Roy ran a lively training camp, but later he said he wanted to spend more time on a special team, with the Islanders finishing in the 31st place league in both power plays and penalty kills.
Signing to Anthony Duclair in free agency, Roy’s move is thought to have had a major impact and backfired in an epic way, with Duclair taking a personal vacation in April after hurting five games in the season and calling him “Godwell” in April and questioning his efforts.
It remains unclear whether Roy will have the opportunity to interview the role of GM, but it is not surprising he will be given the opportunity to state his case.
Roy coached while serving as vice president of hockey operations in the Avalanche, but the dichotomy between him and Joe Sakic (the other decision maker at the club at the time) led to his resignation.
Roy said he was hired by the islanders to realize that it is impossible to do front office and head coaching duties in the NHL at the same time.
Still, Roy has nothing if he’s not confident in his abilities, and we don’t know if his attitude has changed about moving to the front office.
From Machiavelli’s perspective, becoming a GM can also ensure Roy’s job safety. He’s not forced to interview him to continue his job, he’ll hire a new head coach himself.
That said, Roy’s resume doesn’t necessarily imply that he is ready to take on a role of this size.
Outside of the junior level Quebec remparts, he has never protected his sole authority over hockey operations, so making him the general manager would be a massive swing from ownership.
