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If you don’t bring us to at least two conference finals then it’s a broken promise. | NHLI via Getty Images
On the game schedule, the Islanders are idle for several days, but the events around them are anything but.
On Sunday, the long-looming games in hand came to roost as the Senators beat the Hurricanes and the Flyers beat the Bruins, both climbing above the Isles to push them out of a playoff spot — and still each with an additional game in hand.
Oh, and before all that, the Isles dropped the bombshell that they fired Patrick Roy as head coach, replacing him with Pete DeBoer. The next few days of practice will be busy indeed. Anything should be an improvement over the uninspired, overmatched, disorganized showing of the last few weeks.
It’s a huge move in that Mathieu Darche made a decision while there’s, maybe, theoretically, if things go right, still time in this season with four games left. But more significantly, Darche made his choice on who would oversee the roster he provides over the next few seasons. DeBoer and Bruce Cassidy were the two most distinguished names available as the offseason neared, and there were lots of teams set to go looking for a coach. So it’s no small move that Darche nabbed one of them now, to provide the structure and direction Roy’s tenure was unable to and to get ahead of the line.
DeBoer and the Isles now have a few days to adjust before their next game, at home Thursday to the Maple Leafs. They could win all four remaining games and still miss the playoffs. If they are somehow able to make it, that will give DeBoer at least double that amount of games to pressure-test and learn more about his roster, which would help him offer useable insight into the major offseason decisions that loom for Darche, who will need to trim some fat somewhere in order to bring in upgrades.
DeBoer has been on the sidelines all season, except for assistant coaching in the Olympics. So with that time and his reputation for being meticulous, he was probably observing and taking notes on the teams he might expect to come calling this summer. Presumably he’s paid attention to the Islanders (aside: do you think he’d have considered them if they didn’t have Matthew Schaefer and Ilya Sorokin in place?), so he should walk in at least having some formed opinions on what they need and how to deploy this incomplete roster.
How will the players respond? I think of Anders Lee, long-term captain and climbing up the franchise leaderboard but facing UFA this summer. I think of a guy like Brayden Schenn, who met Darche and Roy before waiving his no trade clause to come and cited Schaefer’s presence as one of the reasons he did. What will his perspective be, having seen his share of coaching changes and coming from a place where the very tactical Jim Montgomery, analogous to DeBoer, succeeded a more heart-and-soul Roy type in Craig Berube? And will there be a useable player who gets caught in the crossfire of a, well, gruff DeBoer?
DeBoer’s track record is very impressive, but he’s also had very impressive rosters to guide. He’s forever chasing a Cup, as the Isles have been since the Drive for Five fell one round short. It’s far from presumed that he can have the same success here, but if he and the franchise both captured that long-sought goal together…well that’d be cool, of course.
Islanders News
- Did I interrupt Easter activities to get a ROY FIRED post up? No, but just know I tried, alas the mobile publisher was not cooperating. Here’s our initial reaction between mimosa sessions. [LHH]
- With the first head coach he didn’t inherit, Darche is now on the clock. [Newsday]
- Thoughts from Arthur Staple on the move. [Twitter]
- Roy’s efforts to fix his own coaching weaknesses were not enough, or soon enough. [Po$t+]
- In making the move now, the Islanders essentially jumped the line on any of DeBoer’s offseason suitors. [Post]
- Fans are surprised but hopeful. [Newsday]
- Seven facts about DeBoer, none of them mentioning Jake Oettinger. [Isles]
- Two bright spots from the loss in Carolina were returns for Max Shabanov and Isaiah George. [THN]
- Speaking of DeBoer though, do you remember when former Sharks beatwriter Kevin Kurz started covering the Islanders for the Athletic? (Do you remember when the Athletic still theoretically covered the Islanders, post-Staple?) Found this thread topical. [Twitter]
Elsewhere
Scores were mostly bad Sunday, but the Red Wings did lose in regulation to the Wild.
- Well that settles it then: The Knights’ bet on John Tortorella “looks good” because they’ve “found their swagger.” [Sportsnet]
- Patrick Kane took a stupid penalty far away from the Wings goal to help the Wild beat them in regulation. [Sportsnet]
A fun sequence from the Penguins’ win over the Panthers, where Parker Wotherspoon responded to Matthew Tkachuk’s crosscheck (not shown) by punching the pesty winger, leading to Sam Bennett punching him:
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