Following Lane Lambert’s firing on Saturday, the New York Islanders made a dramatic bench-heavy midseason move when they hired Patrick Roy as their new coach.
General manager and president of hockey operations Lou Lamoriello made the announcement to fire Lambert and hire Roy, who hasn’t been an NHL coach in almost ten years. Roy now gets another chance after being considered for multiple positions in the past.
In a video conference with reporters, Lamoriello stated, “Watching our team play, I felt that the inconsistency that has been going on for some period of time was not going to end.” “After meeting Patrick recently, I thought that this was the best course of action for our
It was the middle of Lambert’s second season on the job. After leading the Colorado Avalanche for three seasons (2013–16), Roy abruptly left his position one month prior to the start of training camp.
In his time away from the NHL, Roy (58) said he has gained a lot of insight into the importance of coaching staffs striving to help players advance.
The third-best goalie in NHL history, and four-time Stanley Cup winner, guided the Avalanche to the playoffs in Nathan MacKinnon’s rookie season and went on to win the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in 2013–14. He has been the junior Quebec Remparts’ general manager and coach for the last five seasons.
Lauoriello remarked, “His presence is extremely aggressive,” referencing Roy’s accomplishments as a player and
