Can Patrick Roy Defend Long Island as He Did in The Crease? A Look Into the Past, Present and Future of Patrick Roy’s Coaching Career.
Photo Credit: New York Times
Newly hired New York Islanders coach was picked up on January 20th, 2024 after the Islanders fired Lane Lambert Patrick Roy is considered to be a top 3 goaltender of all time, if not number one of all time. He has won 4 Stanley Cups (2 with the Montreal Canadiens and 2 with the Colorado Avalanche , 3 Conn Smythe awards and 3 Vezina trophies. Over his 19 seasons playing in the league he finished with an average GAA of 2.54 and a save percentage of .912. Simply put he was a monster in the league from the 80s to the early 2000s he tore up the league. He was also always an emotional player, which infamously got him traded when after being left in a game against the Red Wings letting in 9 goals he was so upset when they pulled him he told the Canadians president at the time Ronald Corey, to trade him and this would be his final game.
How could he have solidified himself more as a hockey legend? By trying to win the cup as a head coach. But does the experiment of former players transitioning into head coaches always work out? Well, sort of. There's plenty of examples and too many to get a definitive answer on whether or not it's a worthwhile strategy. For example, the disaster in Phoenix when Wayne Gretzky tried to coach the Coyotes and in four seasons only went above .500 by one win in 2007-2008 going 38-37. But there are also examples like Craig Berube who ended up winning the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues with only 2 years of coaching experience in Philadelphia.
Photo Credit: CBC.com
We already have a sense of how Roy’s tenure will go as he has been a coach for a while with the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL from 2005-2013 and 2018-2023 where he actually did win a Memorial Cup and he finished 1st in the past two seasons with the Remparts. He also coached the Avalanche from 2013-2016 for three seasons and actually won the Jack Adams award in his first year after finishing first in the Central Division. But the next two years he missed the playoffs and was subsequently fired.
After he won the Memorial Cup with the Remparts the Islanders fired Lane Lambert and Roy was hired to fill in as interim head coach going 20-12-5 with a solid Islanders squad finishing 3rd in the Metropolitan Division.
So what is next for no longer interim but Head Coach Patrick Roy? Well, the future for the Islanders does look bright with someone who has some qualities of Roy in Ilya Sorokin going into his 5th season in the league; Some call him the best goalie in the league. Their defense is also solid with guys like Dobson and Pulock who make life easier for Sorokin. You can’t forget about the star of the team, Barzel, who hasn’t been himself these past couple of years; But with a fresh face behind the bench, there is optimism that he can change things around.
So the keys are in Coach Roy’s hand. But can he take this team to the promised land or will he flop and be another experiment gone wrong?
