Patrick Roy has failed to shape a new NY Islanders identity in his one year as coach

One year ago, New York Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello make a shocking move.

It wasn't stunning that Lane Lambert was fired, not with the Islanders in danger of missing the post-season after a season full of blown third-period leads and poor defensive play. Things had been trending in that direction for weeks as the season started to slip away.

The shock was that his replacement was Patrick Roy. No one saw THAT coming.

Roy brought name recognition, a championship (as a player) pedigree, passion, and a way of talking about the game that was refreshing compared to Lambert, who was advertised as a "new voice" but felt stale in the way he communicated through the media following the introspective Barry Trotz.

After meddling along in a similar trajectory as the team was under Lambert, the Islanders caught fire unexpectedly in the final weeks, finishing 8-0-1 and third in the Metropolitan Division. They were ousted in five-games by the Carolina Hurricanes in a mistake, and unlucky bounce-filled series.

If there was a reason to be optimistic heading into this season, it was rooted in Roy having a full off-season and training camp to evaluate the roster and implement his system. However, for a multitude of reasons, many of the Islanders' deficiencies have remained, and their special teams have gone from mediocre to historically bad. Roy and his coaching staff's inability to solve inherent problems that would sink any team's season has been disappointing and throws into question whether he is the right person to lead this team into their next phase.

What has been this team's identity with Roy behind the bench? Are they a tough team to play against? Not particularly? Are they staunch defensively? No. Do they have elite goaltending? Not enough. They aren't scoring any more than they have previously, and if there were a single word to identify the Islanders, it would be mediocre. If there was a second word, it is inconsistent.

A pivot for the organization is coming. Roy may be doing his best with a roster that is ill-equipped to play the system he wants or something else. While the roster is imperfect in many ways, you can't say Roy's gotten the most out of the players, not with the way the power play and penalty kill have underperformed and how a team identity has failed to take shape.

Roy carries an unmistakable presence behind the bench and in front of a media room. He's experienced greatness at the team and personal level more than most in hockey history. However, the momentum surrounding the championship blueprint it felt he was instilling has fizzled greatly in his first full year, and it's questionable whether ownership or the fanbase will have enough patience to see if he's capable of setting the team back on a championship path.