For the second consecutive Sunday, an NHL team looking ahead to the postseason has fired its head coach.

The New York Islanders announced on Sunday that Patrick Roy “has been relieved of his coaching responsibilities.” Peter DeBoer has been hired to replace him with four games remaining in the regular season.

Advertisement

The Islanders are currently the seventh seed in the East with a 42-31-5 record and 89 points. But their hold on that spot is tenuous after four consecutive losses and defeats in seven of the past 10 games. Four teams are now behind New York, which has 88 points. The Islanders face one of the teams directly behind them on Saturday, hosting the Ottawa Senators.

DeBoer, 57, was available since the Dallas Stars fired him following last season and was considered one of the top coaching candidates available. While waiting for another NHL head-coaching opportunity, he was an assistant on Jon Cooper’s staff for Team Canada during the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.

During his 17 years as an NHL head coach, DeBoer has a .585 winning percentage (662-447-152) and coached the New Jersey Devils (in 2011-12) and San Jose Sharks (in 2015-16) to the Stanley Cup Final. With 97 playoff wins, he ranks fifth all-time among NHL coaches and holds the most victories by a coach who hasn’t won a Stanley Cup.

Advertisement

Roy finishes his Islanders stint with a 97-78-22 record and two years left on his contract, according to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. Roy replaced Lane Lambert during the 2023-24 season and the team went on to make the postseason, losing a first-round series to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games. The Islanders did not qualify for the playoffs last season.

Roy’s firing comes week after Vegas dismissed Bruce Cassidy

One week ago, the Vegas Golden Knights fired Bruce Cassidy and named John Tortorella as head coach on the verge of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

However, the Golden Knights were in better position for the postseason when making their coaching change. At the time, Vegas was 32-26-16 with a solid hold on the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference.

“All I can say is, I’m ready,” DeBoer told NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger last week after Cassidy was fired. “There are only 32 jobs in the NHL and it’s a privilege to have one of them. I’m humble enough to know that.”

“Having said that, I have a lot of confidence in my track record of coming in and having success in different places,” he added. “And I’m especially proud of my ability in the playoffs to have teams move forward.”

The Islanders are off until Thursday when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs.