With their playoff hopes dwindling by the day, the New York Islanders are in desperate need of saving this season. The organization and fans hope that the cavalry just arrived, after the team revealed that head coach Lane Lambert has been dismissed and replaced with NHL all-time great Patrick Roy.

Fans are going to need a little time to process this bombshell. Lambert's days became numbered following a rough stretch that saw the Isles lose six of their last eight games (twice in overtime) and plummet to sixth place in the Metropolitan Division. Although he helped lead the team to the postseason in 2023, immediate change was demanded.

Lambert ends his one-and-a-half-year head coaching tenure with a 61-46-20 record and two playoff victories. New York was not interested in making this midseason transition a low-key one, with a true legend set to take over the reins.

Roy, arguably the best goaltender to ever man a net, is returning to the NHL after coaching the Quebec Remparts to the QMJHL Championship and the Memorial Cup in 2023.  He served as the head coach of the Colorado Avalanche from 2013-16 (130-92-24). As a player, Roy won the Stanley Cup two times each with the Montreal Canadiens and Avalanche, while earning the prestigious Conn Smythe Trophy three times (Finals MVP).

One thing is for certain, Patrick Roy certainly exudes the star power befitting of the market. He will have a lot of work to do, and not much time to do it, if the Islanders are going to reclaim their role as the plucky underdogs and skate their way back into the playoff picture.

New York will try to put Friday's brutal overtime loss to the last-place Chicago Blackhawks behind it, as “The Wall” debuts against the visiting Dallas Stars on Sunday.