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The New York Islanders announced today that the team has fired head coach Lane Lambert, with Patrick Roy stepping in to take over.
#Isles News: New York Islanders President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Lou Lamoriello announced today that Lane Lambert has been relieved of his coaching responsibilities. Patrick Roy has been named Head Coach of the New York Islanders.
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) January 20, 2024
However, despite the Islanders finding some success in December to rise up the standings a bit, 2024 has been a different story for the team. New York is riding a four-game losing streak, having won just two of their last 10 games, and now sit 12th in the Eastern Conference in points percentage.
Roy, on the other hand, most recently held an NHL head coaching role with the Colorado Avalanche for three seasons from 2013 until 2016. The Hall of Famer won the Jack Adams award in his first season as an NHL head coach, but after leaving the Avalanche in 2016, Roy returned to coach and manage the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts for five seasons, winning a Memorial Cup last year.
Given the Islanders’ slide, it’s not shocking to see a change being made. The organization’s moves over recent years have made it clear the team intends to compete right now, but through January, the team has quickly started to slip out of the playoff picture. Under much of Lambert’s tenure, the Islanders have often seemed to lack consistency from game to game or even period to period, and never really found the structure they had during most of Trotz’s time as head coach.
A change was beginning to appear inevitable, and Roy could be the solution.