The decision to fire Patrick Roy and hire Pete DeBoer will not be a failure if the Islanders miss the playoffs, but the 2025-26 season will be.
This was a long-term hire made with short-term ramifications, not just for playoff revenue but for the roster composition over what will be a consequential summer. DeBoer is a lifeline to this group — not just on a collective level but an individual one — that played itself below the playoff cut by going 3-7-0 over its last 10 games under Roy. His first three days in charge before coaching a must-win game Thursday against the Maple Leafs will tell him plenty about who hangs onto it.
“Some of my nonnegotiables, we’ve got a list,” DeBoer said. “It’s not X’s and O’s. It’s the details of the game: line changes, backchecking, effort, stopping in D-zone coverage. Willingness to take a turn and block a shot when it’s your turn. All of the intangibles that go into playing winning hockey this time of year.”
If you’re counting, there are at least three things on that list — line changes, backchecking and defensive zone coverage — that have been consistent issues for the Islanders all season. DeBoer cannot overhaul the Islanders’ entire system in three days, but he can make tweaks, and he can instill a mindset.
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