Patrick Roy’s NHL legacy is unquestioned as a Hall of Fame goalie with four Stanley Cups, two each with the Canadiens and Avalanche. But his time as a coach, first with the Avalanche and now with the Islanders, has yet to reach that lofty standard.
But the Islanders are finally playing more to his vision of an up-tempo attack in his second full season behind their bench and he has developed a quick rapport with first-year general manager Mathieu Darche. So his role and influence in the Islanders’ early-season success cannot be overlooked.
“We communicate constantly,” Darche said. “We’re on the same page in how we want to play, communicating with players. So it’s been great.”
The Islanders (13-9-2) went into Thanksgiving holding the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot despite widespread preseason predications they would not be a playoff team this season. They continue a seven-game homestand on Friday against the Flyers after Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to the Bruins despite a 45-14 shot advantage.
And two of Roy’s veteran Islanders players told Newsday they’ve seen an evolution in Roy’s coaching skills. Captain Anders Lee noted Roy’s improved communication while Kyle Palmieri said Roy is more confident this season.
“I think Patty’s done a great job this year with his messaging,” Lee told Newsday. “He’s been very on point. He’s been very heady and cerebral about it. He’s had a good pulse on what we need at the right time and what this group is feeling and how to bring the message. He’s coming this year with a great perspective on things and he’s done a tremendous job with that communication to the group.
“That would be the biggest thing I’ve seen him come back with after last year. I know he did a lot of reflecting on himself and his coaching. Big improvement on that end and he’s resonating with the group.”
Roy was hired to replace the fired Lane Lambert on Jan. 20, 2024 and guided the Islanders to a 20-12-5 finish before they were eliminated by the Hurricanes in the first round in five games. The Islanders went 35-35-12 and missed the playoffs last season, costing president/general manager Lou Lamoriello his job in favor of Darche. Lamoriello hired Roy after his three-season tenure with the Avalanche with one playoff appearance ended in 2016.
“There’s a level of confidence,” Palmieri told Newsday. “He comes in mid-year, that’s hard to do for anybody. You’re playing a certain system all throughout that year and you want to make tweaks and also not tear everything down. Then we had his first training camp and it’s still an adjustment period. I think this year he’s confident in the decisions he makes and we’re going out there and trying to execute a plan and, for the most part, it’s worked pretty well.
“I’ve seen a lot more confidence in the way he carries himself in the meetings.”
Roy had no previous relationship with the new GM before Darche, a fellow French-Canadian, was hired on May 23 and perhaps could have worried about his job status. After all, it would not be uncommon for a new GM to want to hire his own coach.
But Darche’s first announcement at his introductory press conference six days later was that Roy would return.
Roy said any potential worries about his job security dissipated immediately.
“First day,” Roy said when Newsday asked how quickly he developed a rapport with Darche.
“We just had an honest conversation. We talked about what we thought went well, what we thought went wrong. After that, I thought the first conversation we had, it clicked. I think you know those things, if it’s going to be a good fit for both of us. I thought it was. I’m very impressed with him.”
One of Darche’s crucial decisions was to finally let Roy hire his own assistant coaches, Ray Bennett to run the power play and forwards and Bob Boughner to work with the defensemen and the penalty kill.
Last season’s assistants, John MacLean and Tommy Albelin, both had ties to Lamoriello dating to their playing career with the Devils.
Bennett and Boughner have played a significant role in Roy implementing the rush transition style he used both with the Avalanche and as a junior hockey coach. To be fair, so has the rapid development of No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer, already an elite skater and playmaker as an 18-year-old defenseman.
“He’s the head coach so he runs that coaching department,” Darche said. “He has to be comfortable with who he wants to work with. Ray and Boughy have been great additions personality wise, skill wise. Patrick is really comfortable working with them.”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.