Islanders replace Roy with DeBoer amid late playoff push
New York Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche fired head coach Patrick Roy and named Peter DeBoer as replacement with four games remaining in the regular season. The move comes as the Islanders hold third place in the Metropolitan Division. DeBoer, dismissed by the Dallas Stars in June 2025, takes over after sitting out the season.
The Islanders entered Sunday on a four-game losing streak and seven losses in their last 10 games. Their most recent defeat came against the Carolina Hurricanes, who outshot New York 40-16 in a 4-3 victory. Roy departed following that game against a team that had already clinched a playoff berth.
Entering Sunday, the Islanders sit third in the Metropolitan Division with 89 points, one point ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets, both at 88 points and pursuing the final divisional playoff spot. The Vegas Golden Knights made a similar late-season coaching change last week, dismissing Bruce Cassidy and hiring John Tortorella on an interim basis. Vegas holds third in its division with 86 points, five ahead of the Los Angeles Kings.
DeBoer owns a career record of 662-447-152 over 1,261 regular-season games with the Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, San Jose Sharks, Golden Knights and Stars, the latter over the past three seasons. He served on Jon Cooper's Team Canada staff at the Milan Cortina Olympics earlier this year. The Islanders, who missed the playoffs the previous two seasons, plan to retain DeBoer into the 2026-27 campaign.
