{"id":543745,"date":"2026-04-06T13:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T13:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/543745\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T13:00:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T13:00:17","slug":"deboers-relationship-with-sorokin-key-for-ny-islanders-after-past-controversies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/543745\/","title":{"rendered":"DeBoer’s relationship with Sorokin key for NY Islanders after past controversies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Peter DeBoer arrives on Long Island with a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 that screams stability and playoff success, but there\u2019s one relationship that will define his tenure with the Islanders more than any system tweak or lineup decision \u2014 his dynamic with Ilya Sorokin.<\/p>\n

Because history suggests it won\u2019t be something to gloss over.<\/p>\n

DeBoer\u2019s track record with his goaltenders has been complicated at times. In Vegas, his public handling of former Islanders one-year wonder Robin Lehner raised eyebrows, particularly when questions around usage and communication spilled into the open. More recently in Dallas, his comments surrounding Jake Oettinger \u2014 especially after a playoff loss \u2014 drew criticism for how responsibility was allocated in high-pressure moments.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where this becomes something to watch closely. DeBoer expressed regret in the way he spoke to the media about the Stars’ No.1 goaltender this fall, and the hope is that he has since learned from that experience and the one where we said Lehner was healthy and fresh, when in fact, he was headed for season-ending shoulder surgery after playing injured.<\/p>\n

\"Oettinger\"<\/p>\n

May 29, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Edmonton Oilers right wing Corey Perry (90) waits in front of Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) in game five of the Western Conference Final of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen all the questions at the postgame press conference were about Jake, I should have redirected the topic to reflect that this wasn\u2019t just about him, this was about all of us.,” DeBoer told NHL.com<\/a> back in September after being dismissed by the Stars in June. <\/p>\n

“We — and I stress the word ‘we’ — did not get the job done. We were on a run in which we\u2019d lost six of our past seven games against Edmonton in the third round dating back to 2024. In one of my answers, I said he\u2019d lost six of seven to them. But it wasn\u2019t just him. It was all of us. That\u2019s not on just one guy. I should have made that clearer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sorokin isn\u2019t just another starting goalie. He\u2019s the backbone of the Islanders, the reason they\u2019ve remained in the playoff conversation, and arguably one of the most valuable players in the league this season. His calm, methodical demeanor has been a constant, even as the structure in front of him has wavered.<\/p>\n

The Islanders don\u2019t just need Sorokin to be good \u2014 they need him to feel supported.<\/p>\n

DeBoer, for all his success, is known to be demanding and direct. That edge can elevate a team, but it can also create friction if not managed carefully, especially with a goaltender who carries as much weight as Sorokin does. The margin here is thin. Push too hard publicly, and it risks unsettling the most important player on the roster. Strike the right balance, and it could unlock another level.<\/p>\n

Because if this pairing works, it changes everything.<\/p>\n

DeBoer brings structure. Sorokin brings brilliance. But the real story will be whether those two elements align \u2014 or collide \u2014 when the stakes inevitably rise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Peter DeBoer arrives on Long Island with a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 that screams stability and playoff success, but there\u2019s one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":543746,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5117],"tags":[196,147,5278,5,4,197],"class_list":{"0":"post-543745","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-stars","8":"tag-dallas","9":"tag-dallas-stars","10":"tag-dallasstars","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-stars"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116357892730886412","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=543745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/543746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}