Islanders fire Roy, hire DeBoer with four games left
The New York Islanders fired head coach Patrick Roy with four games remaining in the regular season. General manager Mathieu Darche named Peter DeBoer as replacement. The move comes amid a tight Metropolitan Division playoff race.
The Islanders hold third place in the division with 89 points entering Sunday, one point ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets at 88 points each. New York enters the final stretch on a four-game losing streak and seven losses in its last 10 games. Roy's final game produced a 4-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, who outshot the Islanders 40-16.
DeBoer joins after Dallas fired him in June 2025 following three seasons there. He holds a career record of 662-447-152 across 1,261 regular-season games with Florida, New Jersey, San Jose, Vegas and Dallas. DeBoer did not coach this season but assisted Jon Cooper with Team Canada at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
The Islanders plan to retain DeBoer into the 2026-27 season and hope he guides them into the playoffs after two straight misses. Vegas also changed coaches recently, dismissing Bruce Cassidy and hiring John Tortorella on an interim basis. The Golden Knights sit third in their division with 86 points, five ahead of Los Angeles.
