Roy Looking to Bring Consistency Back to Islanders

From afar, Patrick Roy has liked what he’s seen from the New York Islanders.

Now, his job will be to make sure he – and the team – sees it on a consistent basis as the Islanders new Head Coach.

“One of my objectives will be to bring some consistency to the play and help these guys in their games,” Roy said.

Inconsistency was the impetus for Lou Lamoriello to make a coaching change on Saturday, as the team introduced the Hall of Fame goalie as the Isles new bench boss and relieved Lane Lambert in the process.

“I felt that the inconsistency that has been going on for some period of time was not going to end,” Lamoriello said during a conference call on Saturday evening. “When I had the opportunity to meet with Patrick recently, I felt that this was the best for our organization, and to go forward. It’s always a tough decision and I have tremendous respect for Lane, but right now we have to get right back on track.”

The Islanders posted a 5-6-5 record from Oct. 10 to Nov. 17. Following a seven-game winless stretch, the Islanders rattled off a 12-3-4 run, but are 2-6-2 since New Year’s Eve, most recently going 0-3-1 on a four-game road trip.

While Lamoriello held firm following the seven-game slide in November, the longtime executive felt the “fine line” had been crossed of late and that his team needed a shakeup. With Roy available, Lamoriello felt he had the right candidate.

“Patrick can flat-out coach,” Lamoriello said. “I've actually watched a lot of his junior games. We certainly watched the Memorial Cup, but also knew what he did with the team that we had in Colorado. You just go back to what the record was there. As far as Patrick's personality, 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.”

The up and down season has included frustrating losses against the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks, the bottom two teams in the overall league standings, but also wins over teams like Carolina, Edmonton, Philadelphia, LA and Toronto. Roy sees the potential in the current lineup.

“I was very impressed with the group,” Roy said. “I like the mix of veteran players and younger guys. I feel like we have two solid goaltenders, good depth on defense and on offense.”

Roy also spoke to the Islanders goaltending tandem of Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov. Despite having 551 wins on his resume, Roy said he plans to leave the day-to-day goalie work to Piero Greco, but is happy to be a sounding board. The new coach is already familiar with Varlamov, since the Isles netminder played for Roy for three seasons in Colorado.

“I had my ups and downs,” said Roy, who was the winningest goalie in NHL history at the time of his retirement. “I could help them on the mental side of the game, with what I would do if I had a bad night, what do I do if I was on the streak, or before a big game, how I would approach it. “Varly already know how I think and what I love to do with the goalies.”

The goalie dynamic is part of Roy’s larger philosophy as a partnership with his players. Roy said his time in junior has showed him how to relate to and develop a new generation of players. As part of that partnership, it’s little gestures like not shunning a player the day after a bad game

“I really want to establish a bit what we did in Colorado which was a partnership with the players,” Roy said. “We want the players to buy into what we'll do as a coaching staff and help them to achieve their goal.”

Saturday’s move was a big one – and the only one per Lamoriello, who said the rest of the staff stays status quo.

Lamoriello also said Roy was the only coach he reached out to, but he felt Roy’s coaching resume – a Jack Adams Award in 2014, the sixth most wins in QMJHL history (524) and two Memorial Cups – and his personality made him the right man to get the Islanders back on the right track.

“His presence is extremely impressive,” Lamoriello said. “And what he has done recently with reference to going back to junior, and the success he's had and how he develops players. It's always been behind my mind. And when the opportunity is there, after a conversation, I thought he was the right person.”

With the Islanders currently in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division, Roy was realistic about the challenge in front of his team, but said he hopes the Islanders embrace a new mindset for the second half.  

“It’s playoff hockey for the Islanders from now on because every game you play are huge points,” Roy said. “You cannot approach those games like a regular season game this playoff hockey and that's the mentality that I hope players will be willing to play with.”