By: Justin Gincauskas
The New York Islanders announced Saturday that they fired head coach Lane Lambert and named Patrick Roy as his replacement.
The firing of Lambert comes as the Islanders currently sit outside of the playoff picture. New York is 19-15-11 this season and is in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division. They are two points back of the Detroit Red Wings for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
“Well, certainly, watching our team play, I felt that the inconsistency that has been going on for some period of time was not going to end,” Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello said. “And when I had the opportunity to meet with Patrick recently, I felt that this was the best for our organization and to go forward. Always a tough decision. Tremendous respect for Lane. But right now, we have to get right back on track.”
Lambert, 59, was in his second season with the Islanders. In 2022-23, the team went 42-31-9, which secured them the first wild card spot. The Islanders fell in the first round of the playoffs to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Roy Returns To NHL Coaching
Patrick Roy will now step in as the head coach of the New York Islanders. The Hall of Fame goaltender coached the Colorado Avalanche from 2013-16. In his first season with Colorado, Roy won the Jack Adams Award, given to the coach who has contributed the most to his team’s success, after leading the Avalanche to a 52-22-8 record.
“I’m excited about this. I won’t lie,” said Roy. “I mean, yes, I have ideas and some changes that I’d love to make. But if you permit me, I will talk to the players before mentioning them to the reporters.”
Roy has had plenty of success coaching the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League. He has a record of 524-255-66 as head coach of the Remparts, and they missed the playoffs just once during his 13 seasons with Quebec.
“I’ve certainly watched Patrick not only as a player but also when he coached in Colorado,” Lamoriello said. “His presence is extremely impressive. And what he has done recently with reference to going back to junior and the success he’s had and how he developed players has always been behind my mind.”
“Patrick can flat-out coach. I’ve seen it. I actually watched a lot of his junior games. We certainly watch the Memorial Cup. But we also knew, when he was in Colorado, what he did with the team that he had in Colorado, you just go back to what the record was there.”
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