Islanders had several reasons to fire Roy

The New York Islanders' massive decision on Sunday was not really a surprise. There was always the possibility that the club would dismiss Roy at one point or another.

What makes Sunday’s move surprising is the timing. With four games to go in the season, the Islanders made arguably their biggest move of the season.

On the surface, the reason for Roy’s dismissal is simple. The club is struggling at the worst possible moment. Instead of gearing up for a playoff run, the Islanders are on their heels, praying their opponents continue to stumble as well.

It became evident that Roy had lost the room at this point in the season. His voice was no longer the driving force it once was.

But that simplistic view is just the beginning. The deeper we go into the rabbit hole, the more it becomes clear that Roy’s firing was a multifactorial issue.

Let’s start with the fact that Mathieu Darche wasn’t sold on Roy being his coach when he took over at the end of last season. There was plenty of speculation about Roy getting the hook. But the organization kept him, likely because a suitable candidate wasn’t available to replace him.

Roy’s success this season kept him behind the bench as long as it did. But it seems that the Isles were just waiting for the right excuse to come along to fire Roy.

That excuse was Peter DeBoer.

DeBoer was going to be in demand this summer. Various coaching vacancies could pop up. The Toronto Maple Leafs will likely be making a move. Also, the Columbus Blue Jackets might be looking for a new coach. Similarly, the Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils, and even the LA Kings might be looking to make changes.

The chances of one of those clubs nabbing DeBoer were far too high.

So, Darche moved in and secured DeBoer when he had the chance. Sure, making the move now seems like a cutthroat move. But Darche didn’t want to take any chances. Delaying the decision could have cost the Isles more than just a playoff spot. Waiting too long could have cost the team a chance to bring in a respected coach like DeBoer.

Lastly, there was another issue at play. As ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported, the Isles needed to do something about the porous defense in front of Ilya Sorokin.

Indeed, the Islanders have left Sorokin out to dry on various occasions. The Isles’ awful 4-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night was a pretty good example of that. A dreadful turnover by Ryan Pulock exemplified what has been a nasty stretch of the Islanders' defense.

That’s a situation that will change under DeBoer. The club will have a chance to push for a quick reset this week. The Isles are off until next Thursday. That’s why making the move on Sunday made sense.

The team could use the extra days to get acclimated to its new coach. There’s no room for error now. Every game is a must-win now. DeBoer will have the task of plugging up the leaks and hopefully turning things around on a dime.