Patrick Roy’s head coaching tenure with the New York Islanders is filled with promise and upside. He took over halfway through the 2023-24 season and willed the team to the playoffs by leading them to a 20-12-5 record down the stretch. Now, the hope is that Roy, with a full offseason to prepare, can help the Islanders take a big step forward and finish near the top of the Eastern Conference in 2024-25.
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He’s not like other coaches as he brings an energy and passion behind the bench unmatched by others. While the longest-tenured coaches in the NHL are more reserved — notably Jon Cooper, Mike Sullivan, and Jared Bednar — Roy can learn from all of them. Cooper and Sullivan in particular can provide some lessons for Roy as he hopes to take a middling Islanders’ team to the next level.
Getting the Most Out of the Roster
It’s a cliche about great coaches that they get the most out of their rosters. It couldn’t be more true about championship teams. When the Pittsburgh Penguins won back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017 and the Tampa Bay Lightning did the same in 2020 and 2021, they saw depth players overachieve and put the team over the top.
It’s partially a reflection of good moves made by a front office as they find hidden gems who make significant impacts despite minimal roles. However, teams that have multiple players stepping up and doing so on more than one occasion are well-coached; they have someone behind the bench who knows how to get the most out of every type of skater.
Roy must find ways to use the Islanders’ roster depth to his advantage. Last season, depth was weak but on an individual level, there are some skaters Roy can utilize properly to make depth a strength. Simon Holmstrom has a quick shot and when he has space to operate and can find the back of the net. Alexander Romanov is a hard-hitting defenseman who is willing to block shots and play in the dirty areas. Kyle MacLean is a fourth-line forward with speed. The key is for Roy to allow them to utilize their skill sets and make a difference in every game.
Balancing Star Players
The common knock on Cooper and Sullivan is that they are good coaches but their stars bail them out. The Lightning have Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and Victor Hedman (plus the recently signed Jake Geuntzel) to compensate for any issues the team has. The Penguins had Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang (plus a younger Guentzel) carrying them when they won the Stanley Cup. Both Cooper and Sullivan get a boost from their stars but they wouldn’t be as long-tenured as they are or have had as much success as they have if they didn’t use them properly.
The Islanders don’t have star players to the same level as the Lightning or the Penguins but they are still a top-heavy team. The offense is led by Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal, and Brock Nelson while the defense is anchored by Noah Dobson. Those four skaters give the Islanders a boost but can only take them so far — that is, unless Roy optimizes their skill sets.
He can play them in all types of situations and more importantly have them play different roles to compensate for the issues throughout the roster. The big one Roy must figure out is how to allow his star players to revitalize the power play since all four skaters are dynamic in the offensive zone but struggle when they have the man advantage. Roy will look to get the most out of his top-end talent but it’s pivotal he does so without wearing them down. To be a great coach, he must think both on a game-by-game basis and also with the 82-game season in mind.
Battling the Dog Days
It’s easy to look back at the final days of former head coach Lane Lambert’s tenure and understand why general manager Lou Lamoriello fired him. The Islanders were in a slump, something a lot of teams go through at some point during the season, and they kept losing games they should have easily won. The problem is that as the losses piled up in the middle of the season, the team looked mentally checked out and lifeless. The Jan. 19 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, one of the worst teams in the NHL, was the last straw and Lamoriello had to make the coaching change to inject life into the roster.
Every team goes through rough stretches. The Lightning started last season 10-15 and every season, seem to have a stretch that makes a playoff berth seem far-fetched. Yet, they are unfazed by the dog days of the season because of the coach they have behind the bench. The same is true about the Penguins, Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes, and any team with a great coach. They don’t let the tough times get to them and they play the same way regardless of what their record is. Sure, Sullivan hasn’t willed his team to the playoffs in the past two seasons, making him a coach who is suddenly on the hot seat. However, throughout his tenure one thing that has kept his teams competitive has been consistency. They will always have a chance to make the playoffs because of it.
Roy must make sure the Islanders battle through the rough stretches. There was a slump during his tenure as they lost six games in a row from March 11 until March 21 and there was some urgency to rebound, something reflected in the roster decisions. Roy made some adjustments and ultimately the team battled back to both finish the season strong and secure a playoff spot. There will be plenty of highs and lows during his coaching tenure and the key will be seeing this team continue to fight through the peaks and valleys that every NHL season has.
Roster Must Reflect Roy’s Vision
All the great coaches have their players buying into a system. The Lightning have bought into Cooper’s style both on the offensive and defensive ends of the ice (which involves precision and playing the high-danger areas). With Crosby, it’s easy for the Penguins to speed things up but Sullivan can have the team playing a slower possession-based game when needed. The Avalanche play fast. The Hurricanes play with a relentless forecheck and with great defense in all three zones. The Florida Panthers wear teams down with hard hits and by controlling the middle of the ice and it’s one of the reasons Paul Maurice was the coach who ended up lifting the Cup by season’s end. The Islanders must play the way of Roy’s style.
What is that style? Roy loves to play with balance and win in multiple ways. The Islanders will win games with their defense but if needed, the offense can step up and take over games. Ideally, they slow the game down and win with puck control and a strong offensive zone presence but if they need to speed the game up and win with the rush, they can do that too.
The Islanders playing to Roy’s vision will have them near the top of the Eastern Conference this season. Sure, the roster has its question marks and isn’t in the same tier as the Panthers or the other elite teams in the conference. That said, they bought in under Barry Trotz and overachieved. They can do the same thing again under Roy.
