The Islanders Swap Coaches With Four Games Left In A Playoff Chase

In December of 1995, Patrick Roy let in nine goals in half a game at home against the Detroit Red Wings. With the crowd getting on his case, and the team already in a spiral, Roy exited the ice and promptly told Canadiens brass that he would not be suiting up for Montreal again. A few days later, Roy got his wish with a trade to the Colorado Avalanche, who would go on to win the Stanley Cup that very season. Mario Tremblay's choice to leave Roy in net until he was soundly humiliated remains, over 30 years later, one of the most memorably consequential coaching decisions in NHL history. https://youtu.be/M9jApHWpKkk?si=sW1yDTDH6IglmTpH&t=636 Roy has had messier breakups than this weekend's, is what I'm saying. But Sunday's firing as head coach by the Islanders is still not how anyone wants to go out. With four games remaining in the regular season, and his team just a few inches out of the last wild card spot in the East, New York announced that they're taking Roy off the bench after a little over two years and replacing him with Pete DeBoer. Why would the club make such a drastic change with just a week's worth of high-stakes games left to play? The answer is more straightforward than it might initially appear.