As the New York Islanders’ season comes to an end, I thought: What cost Roy the Isles’ job? The following article is purely conjecture; it is not an inside info story.
Did the Players quit on him?
Is it common knowledge that a coach’s shelf life is usually 2-3 years before the players shut the coach out? When you get a strong-willed coach, it is bound to happen; he will clash with some of the players. When this happens, they usually tune him out completely.
I am referring especially to the epic 8-3 loss to the Pens. The Islanders had total control of the game until the backbreaking shorthanded goal by Rakell, which cut it to 3-2 for the Islanders. From that point on, the Pens took over, scoring 6 straight goals to an 8-3 lead.
For some reason, the biggest issue is the Islanders’ inability to play a full 60 minutes. Go no further than the Blackhawks game in Long Island. The Hawks landed a 4-1 win over the Isles with a ferocious rally that fell short 4-3 on the 24th of March. If they weren’t so sloppy in the first two periods, they would have blown the Hawks away.
Isles hire Pete Deboer
I must admit I was shocked by the timing of the firing. I asked around, and the consensus was that if they had waited too long to hire Peter DeBoer, they would have had to compete with multiple teams vying for his services. A lot of people believe that Peter will have this team turned around for next season.
Final word
Whether Peter can save this season remains to be seen, but after what they gave up on Roy, can they recover and go 4-0? Even if they can’t, the Flyers are one of the hottest teams in the league, led by a hot goalie, and the Sens have corrected their season of late. Anything is possible; Peter will have to have this team prepared for battle.
