The New York Islanders are heading back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after clinching third in the Metro Division on Monday night. When the coaching change happened, there were not many expectations for the Islanders.
However, the Islanders took it one day at a time and President/General Manager Lou Lamoriello knew all he needed was the right coach for the players he had on the roster. The hard work the players have put in has gotten the Islanders to this spot.
NHL News: Islanders Hire Patrick Roy as New Head Coach
TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button joined Jay Onrait on SportsCenter and was asked about Patrick Roy‘s job as head coach, leading the New York Islanders back to the playoffs and why some teams regret not hiring him.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Jay Onrait: “Let’s talk about this, Craig. The Isles clinch third in the Metro, and Patrick Roy takes over in January. At the time, they were on the outside looking in. Lou Lamoriello does it every time they bring in a new coach. They seem to catch fire, whatever team he is the GM of, and off they go.”
Craig Button: “Well when you look at Patrick Roy there was no doubt in my mind that he was ready to return to the NHL and help the team be successful. And nobody should be surprised and Lou Lamoriello is the one that hired Patrick Roy based upon his history of hiring former Montreal Canadiens and it really helped the New Jersey Devils be successful. Exactly what Patrick has done.
If you go back and look at what he did in junior hockey with Quebec Remparts and help winning the Memorial Cup, nurturing the young players, helping a team understand this is the way we got to play, then getting players committed to it because a coach has to have a plan. A coach has to come in with a plan. But most importantly, the players have to buy the plan.
NHL Rumors: New York Islanders, and the Vancouver Canucks
And Patrick Roy comes in, and he says, here’s the way that we can have success. Here’s what I’m gonna try to emphasize; now let’s get after it. And now they start to see success. Now the belief grows. The team gets results. That’s what good coaching does.
There’s teams out there that missed on Patrick Roy. They missed on Patrick Roy. You can answer it your own way. However, you want to do it all I know is you missed on him.”