Lane Lambert Fired; Patrick Roy Named Head Coach of New York Islanders.

From 2013 to 2016, the 58-year-old was the starting goalie for three seasons for the Colorado Avalanche, one of his previous teams. With a record of 130-92-24 and a.577 points percentage, he was named coach of the year in his rookie campaign and received the Jack Adams Award. However, that inaugural season also saw Colorado’s lone playoff appearance—a seven-game upset loss to the Minnesota Wild.

Furthermore, Roy damaged his chances of landing a job in the NHL by leaving the Avalanche in a difficult situation. He declared in August of the previous year that he would not be playing again, citing a lack of “say in the decisions that impact the team’s performance.”

Since most coaches had already been appointed for the next season, that left then-GM Joe Sakic frantically searching for a replacement. Jared Bednar, who had just won the Calder Cup with the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL, was drawn to him. Even though the Avalanche scored just 48 points in Bednar’s debut season, they were well-positioned to select superstar defenseman Cale Makar with the fourth pick in the 2017 draft.