The New York Islanders made a shocking move on Saturday, bringing former Colorado Avalanche goalie Patrick Roy as head coach. He replaces Lane Lambert behind the bench after a season and a half. Much has been said about the decision from New York, and now team captain Anders Lee is weighing in.
Lee addressed the move on Sunday ahead of his team’s game with the Dallas Stars. The Islanders captain said his new bench boss has already made an impact on the locker room during his first practice.
“I think obviously, everyone knows who Patrick Roy is,” Lee said, via NHL.com, “the career that he’s had, and the intensity that he brings, the passion — you’ve heard that a bit throughout the past few days — but that was noticeable from the second he walked in the room and made his presence known.”
Patrick Roy returns to the NHL with Islanders after junior success
Roy has experience in the NHL as a player and coach. Most fans are well aware of his accolades on the ice. The Hall of Famer won four Stanley Cups, two with the Avalanche and two with the Montreal Canadiens. Until recently, he had the second-most wins of any puck-stopper in league history.
As a coach, he certainly hasn’t had as much success. At least, not in the NHL. He became head coach of the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts in September 2005 following his retirement. In 2006, Quebec won the Memorial Cup in his first season.
Roy jumped to the NHL in 2013, taking over the Avalanche. Things did not go well for the Hall of Famer, however. He coached three seasons with his former team, making the playoffs in his first season. He even won the Jack Adams Award as the best coach in the league. Colorado regressed in the following years, though, leading to Roy’s resignation in 2016.
The Hall of Famer eventually made his way back to the Remparts in 2018. He led Quebec back to the top of Canadian junior hockey last summer. Quebec won the QMJHL Championship before going on to claim the Memorial Cup once again for the first time since 2006.
Roy takes over an Islanders team needing a spark. They dropped each of their last four games entering play on Sunday. And they sat two points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. Let’s see if Roy can stabilize things on Long Island the rest of the way this season.
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