Insider sheds light on reasons why Islanders moved on from Roy

The New York Islanders are in a strange holding pattern as they get set for their next game. That game will be Thursday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. That Thursday night matchup will also feature the debut of new head coach Peter DeBoer.

Plenty of speculation has gone into the reasoning behind the move. As we’ve discussed here at Eyes on Isles, there wasn’t a single reason why Roy was ultimately let go. While it is possible to pinpoint a moment when the final straw broke the camel’s back, the events that led to Roy’s dismissal had been in motion for quite some time.

Now, insider David Pagnotta has shed another interesting bit of light on the situation. During a discussion on Daily Faceoff, Pagnotta posited one of the key reasons why the Islanders pulled the trigger on the coaching change, even at this late stage of the season.

“It seemed like over the last couple of weeks there were some tensions that were rising on Long Island with respect to Patrick Roy and some of his players.”

Pagnotta didn’t name names, but the unhappy players had to be crucial team members. The first name that pops to the forefront is Ilya Sorokin.

As ESPN’s Emily Kaplan initially reported, part of the rationale behind the change was protecting Sorokin. The club had been leaving Sorokin out to dry in recent games, putting needless stress on their franchise goalie. 

Since the switch, the rhetoric coming out of Long Island has been the need to limit the number of high-danger chances that Sorokin faces on a nightly basis.

Well, that’s what Peter DeBoer is all about. He’s a defensive specialist who will likely keep the Islanders’ defensive game honest.

It’s also unreasonable that the Islanders made the coaching change JUST for Sorokin’s sake. There had to be other players involved for the situation to get to the point that it did.

DeBoer joins Islanders with a clean slate

One of the best things about bringing in a new coach is that everyone gets to start off with a clean slate. That means that anyone who was in Roy’s doghouse could get a fresh start under DeBoer. That situation includes both veterans and younger players. 

That will be a crucial situation to consider, particularly with the need for depth in the postseason. While the mission at the moment is to secure a playoff spot, it’s more than likely that the team is thinking several moves ahead. Those moves involve what a potential postseason lineup would like.

That’s a bridge that the club will cross when it gets to it. But you also have to think that the Islanders will want to give everyone a chance to contribute. Sure, there is no time to experiment with a lineup at this point in the season. But there will be a focus on establishing the club’s depth chart moving forward. Even if there are just four games left, DeBoer will want to know what he’s got to work with. That’s why it would be a surprise to see lines and defense pairings changing throughout the next few games.

Everyone gets a clean slate now. So, it will be up to each player to make the most of the opportunity.