Patrick Roy’s future: 'I don’t think Mathieu Darche will fire a Québécois'

Without necessarily having anything to do with the fact that both are Québécois (which is more a figure of speech than anything else, in my opinion), there have been rumblings since the beginning of the process that this decision might be imposed on Lou Lamoriello’s successor. Roy is still under contract for several seasons… and the Islanders are probably not very interested in paying the salaries of several coaches at the same time.

And with Lou Lamoriello, who hired Roy, still around on Long Island, the coach likely still has support somewhere in the organization.

Of course, it’s possible that things will change and Darche will end up preferring to hire his own coach. That said, Rosner believes another scenario is more plausible: one where Roy instead takes on more of a role in the club’s hockey operations.

Rosner asserts that if Roy is back, it will be necessary to involve him more in the team’s hockey operations, particularly in line-up construction. With Darche not having to answer to a president above him (for now, at least), there’s a way to involve Roy in these decisions without too many people at the table.

And if the club wants its coach to deliver results, it’s going to have to provide him with a team that reflects his image, you know.

For the time being, then, Rosner seems to think that we shouldn’t expect any change behind the Islanders bench. In fact, if there is to be change, it may come in the form of Roy’s assistants… and here too, the coach is likely to have his say, just as he did when he brought Benoît Desrosiers with him.

Overtime

– Nice read on the Rocket.

– The Lions get closer to the final.

– A name to keep an eye on.

– A big prospect recalled by the Red Sox.