Lou Lamoriello spoke to the New York media to sum up his team’s season.
He announced that he would be back as GM of the Islanders next season, but he also announced that Patrick Roy would be the club’s coach next season.
No surprise there, but okay.
Clearly, I would have been surprised to see Roy not return. After all, he took his team to the playoffs even though it wasn’t guaranteed, and even though he lost in the first round, the club didn’t look bad in the playoffs.
Except in the second game.
It’s also worth noting that he signed a three-season contract last January and wasn’t there as an interim. All the reasons were good to bring him back, but if Lou didn’t come back, it could have been a game-changer.
So that’s the end of the discussions.
It’s important to remember, however, that the Islanders don’t have a big team, they don’t have any financial leeway, and good NHL prospects aren’t Islanders property.
So it’s quite a challenge that awaits Roy, who nevertheless knew exactly what he was getting into when he chose to take on the job of head coach of the New York Islanders.
I wonder if he’ll change his coaching staff, though. Doug Houda and John MacLean kept their jobs under Roy, who also added Benoit Desrosiers to his staff when he arrived on Long Island.
Could another member of the QMJHL come in? Louis Robitaille and Roy get along well…
Breaking news
– Auston Matthews is making progress, but we don’t know if he’ll play tomorrow.
– Indeed.
– The subject is the talk of the town.
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