Tommy Albelin joins Patrick Roy's Islanders coaching staff
Tommy Albelin an an assistant with the New Jersey Devils in 2010. Credit: Getty Images
Islanders president and general manager Lou Lamoriello reached into his Devils past to hire a new assistant coach.
The team on Monday announced two-time Stanley Cup winner Tommy Albelin had been named to replace Doug Houda, whose contract was not renewed. Albelin will work with the Islanders' defensemen and, potentially, run the penalty kill under Patrick Roy, who is entering his first full season running the team’s bench.
“We’re just going to go forward with a different type of defensemen coach,” Lamoriello said on Saturday in Las Vegas at the conclusion of the two-day NHL Draft.
Albelin, 60, from Sweden, has spent the last eight seasons as an assistant coach for Team Switzerland.
Lamoriello, then the Devils’ boss, initially acquired Albelin from the Quebec Nordiques during the 1988-89 season. He also reacquired Albelin in 2001 and Albelin was part of the Devils’ Cup-winning squads in 1995 and 2003. In all, the defenseman played 952 NHL regular-season games over 18 seasons with the Nordiques, Devils and Flames with 44 goals, 211 assists and 417 penalty minutes.
Albelin also spent eight seasons coaching in the Devils’ organization, including two stints as a Devils assistant coach from 2007-10 and then in 2014-15.
Roy’s staff also includes returning goalie coach Piero Greco and returning assistant coaches John MacLean and Benoit Desrosiers as well as director of goaltending Chris Terreri, who was promoted from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport to replace Mitch Korn, who left to rejoin former Islanders coach Barry Trotz with the Predators.
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.