What the two new members of Patrick Roy staff bring to the Islanders

In his first major decision as Islanders general manager, Mathieu Darche decided to keep head coach Patrick Roy. While Roy is staying on, that does not mean Darche will not have any say in who is behind the bench.

On Monday, the Islanders announced two additions to Roy's staff, hiring Ray Bennett and Bob Boughner as assistant coaches. But who are these guys, and what will they bring to the Islanders and the coaching staff?

What Ray Bennett and Bob Boughner bring to the Islanders staff

Bennett brings a lot of experience with him, having been an assistant coach in the NHL for the past 25 years. After spending two seasons as the head coach of the Red Deer College men's hockey team, he joined the Kings coaching staff in 1999 as an assistant coach. Then, in 2007, he left to join the St. Louis Blues staff in a similar role and remained there for 10 seasons. Since 2017, he has been behind the bench for the Avalanche.

In Bennett's 25 seasons behind the bench, he has made the Stanley Cup Playoffs 17 times. The highlight of his career came during the 2021-22 season when he helped lead the Avalanche to their first Stanley Cup championship in 21 years. Bennett has been around a lot of very talented teams and knows what it takes to win. This experience will go a long way in helping the Islanders get back on track.

While his role has not been officially announced, it's assumed he'll be in charge of the power play, as that was his role in Colorado. Last season, the Avalanche had the eighth-best power play in the league, converting on 24.8 percent of opportunities. This will be a godsend for the Islanders, as they only converted on 12.6 percent of their power plays, the second-worst mark in the league. Bennett will have his work cut out for him, but he should be able to develop a strategy to improve the power play.

Boughner got his start in the NHL when he was drafted by the Red Wings in the second round of the 1989 draft. On February 3rd, 1996, Boughner made his NHL debut for the Panthers. Throughout his career, Boughner bounced around the league, splitting his time between the NHL and the AHL. In 630 career NHL games, he registered 15 goals and 57 assists for 72 points.

After retiring from the NHL in 2006, he became the head coach and owner of the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL. Boughner got a shot to be an NHL head coach in 2017 when the Panthers hired him to be their head coach.

He would spend two seasons before being fired for failing to make the playoffs. He would join the Sharks organization and become the interim head coach in 2020 after Peter DeBoer was fired. He became the full-time head coach after the season and spent three seasons before being fired. Since 2022, he has been an assistant coach for the Red Wings.

Boughner brings a lot of experience to the NHL staff. With this being Roy's first NHL coaching job, it wouldn't hurt to have a former head coach on his staff. Someone who has been there and knows the decisions Roy will have to make. It's someone that Roy can go to when a hard decision needs to be made, and can help him grow as a head coach.

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