Patrick Roy brings needed passion to an Islanders team slipping out of contention
Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy watches during a hockey game against the Jets in Denver on Nov. 28, 2015. Credit: AP/Jack Dempsey
Lou Lamoriello’s term running the Islanders could be slipping away, along with the team’s position in the NHL standings.
But on Saturday, the boss showed he does not plan to go quietly.
In a doozy of a course correction, Lamoriello canned Lane Lambert as his coach in favor of Patrick Roy, who if nothing else will make things interesting around here.
And that is a heck of a start for a team that has been fading into irrelevance on the New York-area winter sports scene.
The Islanders do not have much to lose at this point, and in Roy, 58, a volatile and voluble Hall of Famer goaltender, they have a lot to gain.
Even in his second language, Roy is an engaging speaker and motivator, as he has shown for decades, and as he did again in a virtual news conference on Saturday.
That could help with the players, which is the most important thing, but it also could help with a team that can use all the marketing oomph it can get.
The Patrick Roy File
Age: 58
As a player
Position: Goalie
Teams: Montreal Canadiens, Colorado Avalanche
NHL Draft: 51st overall pick in 1984
Record: Compiled overall record of 551-315-131 with 2.54 goals against average in regular season, and 151-94 record with 2.30 GAA in playoffs.
Awards: 1985 Calder Cup; 1986, ’93 2001 Conn Smythe Trophy, 1989, ’90, 92 Vezina Trophy.
Stanley Cup champion: 1986, 93 with Montreal, 1996, 2001 with Colorado
All-Star Game: 11-time participant
As a coach
Records: Three years with Colorado (2013-16), 130-92-24 record, including 3-4 in playoffs. Finished first in Central Division in 2013-14, losing in first round to Minnesota, 4-3.
As QMJHL coach: 13 seasons with Quebec Remparts, 524---255-66 record, 6 division titles, 12 playoff appearances, 2 Memorial Cups.
Lambert turned off many fans with his communication style in addition to his win-loss record.
Roy plans to “try to use the media as a bridge between us and our fans. Our fan base is extremely important. I want the fans to come to our games and be excited.
“I want our fans to walk in the street wearing that jersey and be so proud of that team. That’s my objective.”
Roy’s passion was part of the attraction for Lamoriello, who in addition to saying that Roy “can flat-out coach” added this:
“He’s fiery. He loves the game. He’s got a passion about him. And I think it’s great. I think it’s going to be great for our players.”
Lamoriello said in speaking to Roy, “The passion came through loud and clear.”
Roy was out of coaching and on the golf course when he was lured back by the potential he sees in the Islanders, who recently completed an 0-3-1 road trip that left them 19-15-11 overall.
Fans likely will not be happy to learn that Lamoriello still is “very happy with the roster at this point.” But he did leave the door open for changes ahead.
If the Islanders do not turn things around, ownership might decide it finally is time to move on from Lamoriello, 81.
But there is plenty of season left, and the old hockey guru sees a team that still can make the playoffs. “You don’t make a decision like this if you do not feel that,” he said.
There are no guarantees here, though.
Roy, who had a storied playing career with the Canadiens and the Avalanche, also coached the Avalanche from 2013 to 2016. But things ended badly in Colorado, and that last NHL gig was a long time ago.
Last season, he coached the Quebec Remparts to the Memorial Cup, which is cool. But Canadian junior hockey does not mean much to the average Islanders fan.
So Roy will come armed with his four Stanley Cups as a player, his charm and his famous name, and will hope to make something happen for a franchise trying to cling to its brief, COVID-era mini-glory days.
He came out saying all the right things, including a detailed ode to the early 1980s Islanders, a team he grew up watching and whose aging stars he faced early in his career.
Roy said his understanding of what it means to be a coach is “day and night” compared to when he left Colorado. He also said he has no interest in “management,” as in having a final say on personnel.
“When I took the job in Colorado, I think I was a bit of a dreamer, thinking that I could do both,” he said. “I think I have plenty on my plate.”
That includes reversing the team’s on-ice fortunes.
“It’s playoff hockey for the Islanders from now on, because every game you play, there are huge points when you’re going to have to catch up to three or four teams in front of you,” Roy said. “You cannot approach those games like a regular-season game. It’s playoff hockey.”
Game 1 is Sunday night against the Stars at UBS Arena.
“I’m very happy that I received this call,” Roy said. “I wasn’t unhappy on the golf course; I won’t lie. But I would say this to you: It was a very welcome call . . . I couldn’t say no to this opportunity.”
The Islanders couldn’t, either.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
