With four games remaining in the regular season, the New York Islanders have fired head coach Patrick Roy.
Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche announced Sunday afternoon that Roy will be replaced by Peter DeBoer.
The Islanders lost 4-3 to the Hurricanes Saturday night in North Carolina. It was the Islanders’ fourth straight loss and their seventh in the last 10 games as they battle for a playoff spot.
Heading into Sunday’s games, the Islanders were barely hanging on to a playoff spot with a 42-31-5 record, good for third place in the Metropolitan Division. They were only one point ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets and two points ahead of the Washington Capitals.
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The Islanders don’t play again until Thursday, when they will host the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Islanders’ last four games are all at home, where they have a 21-14-2 record.
Roy, who was the Canadiens goalie the last two times they won the Stanley Cup in 1986 and 1993, was in his third season coaching the Islanders, who missed the playoffs last year. The Hall of Famer had a 97-78-22 record during his time with the Islanders.
Darche, who played three seasons with the Canadiens, is in his first season as GM of the Islanders.
DeBoer has coached more than 1,200 games in the NHL. He was fired by the Dallas Stars at the end of last season and has also coached the Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights. He was part of Team Canada’s coaching staff when it won a silver medal at this year’s Milano Cortina Olympics.
DeBoer has never won the Stanley Cup, but did advance to the Stanley Cup final twice — with the Devils in 2012 and the Sharks in 2016. He has a career record of 662-447-152 for a .585 winning percentage.
