Islanders' Patrick Roy at the one-year mark: Players believe in him
New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy at UBS Arena against the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 18, 2025. Credit: AP/Corey Sipkin
The accolades don’t sync with the record. But on the anniversary of Patrick Roy taking over as Islanders coach, there’s no doubt his players remain supportive of him.
“Patrick is a stand-up guy,” Mathew Barzal said before the Islanders faced the Blue Jackets at UBS Arena on Monday night. “He speaks the truth. That has translated within our locker room, guys being honest with each other. His overall mindset that he has about winning and culture, it’s been really beneficial for this group.”
Islanders president and general manager Lou Lamoriello hired Roy — the only candidate he interviewed — to replace the fired Lane Lambert on Jan. 20, 2024. The Islanders were 19-15-11 at the time and needed an 8-0-1 finish to take third in the Metropolitan Division before losing to the Hurricanes in five games in the first round of the playoffs.
Entering Monday, the Islanders were in last place in the division at 18-20-7 and trailed the Blue Jackets by eight points for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot — with six teams in between them.
Obviously, the overall mark of 37-35-18 is not what Roy, Lamoriello or the Islanders’ players expected a year later.
“It does not [feel like a year], it feels like it was yesterday,” said Roy, who compiled a 130-92-24 record with the Avalanche from 2013-16 and won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach in 2014. “But I’m thankful for the opportunity and I’ve enjoyed every minute since I’ve been here. It’s a great experience and it’s nice to be part of this organization.
“I wish we had a better record than what we have. But overall, I’m happy to see the steps we’re making. I feel like we’ve been playing better than our record has shown.”
Roy tried to inject more offense through more aggressive play. Instead, the Islanders entered Monday ranked 28th in goals (121) and last in the league on the power play and penalty kill. They have won at least three straight only once this season.
“I feel good about this coaching staff,” Lamoriello said on Jan. 9 in Las Vegas.
Yet if the Islanders can’t string together a decent winning streak, there’s a good chance that Lamoriello will have to strongly consider becoming a seller before the March 7 trade deadline with top-six forwards Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri scheduled to become unrestricted free agents.
“A coach coming in midyear, it’s a bit of a whirlwind those first couple of weeks,” Palmieri said. “But I think we’ve been able to work toward something. The run last year to get us into the playoffs. Here we are a year later kind of in a similar position where we’ve got to find our way back into the playoff picture. As a group, we’re looking forward to that challenge.
“We’re a group that believes in each other.”
Barzal said Roy’s upbeat energy is a big reason for the Islanders’ ironclad belief in themselves regardless of what their record shows.
“What people may not know is that Patty is super-positive and brings a ton of energy,” Barzal said. “Every day is a new day and every day is a day to get better. It doesn’t matter if we’ve won or lost; the next day Patty is coming in with a lot of energy. You see him practice, he’s very vocal and he likes to teach. I think it’s been great.”
Seven days after Roy was hired, Barzal opined that the Islanders were “building a blueprint that is going to allow us to become champions.” Barzal was asked Monday morning if he still believes that.
“Where we are in the standings isn’t indicative of the culture that Patty has brought here,” Barzal said. “The actual culture that Patty has brought here is unlike [anything] I’ve been a part of. He’s just such an honest guy and he has a ton of belief in everything. He holds everybody accountable.”
Notes & quotes: Hudson Fasching (upper body/injured reserve) missed his sixth straight game but participated in the Islanders’ optional morning skate wearing an orange non-contact jersey . . . Matt Martin and defenseman Dennis Cholowski were healthy scratches and Maxim Tsyplakov served the second of a three-game suspension for his high hit on the Flyers’ Ryan Poehling.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
