Subscribe
Follow Us
The New York Islanders dropped a 5-2 decision at UBS Arena on Thursday night to the Seattle Kraken, but there was one player in particular who drew the public wrath of head coach Patrick Roy.
Roy had words for forward Pierre Engvall, who had been designated a healthy scratch for New York's previous game and was even waived by the team before the 2024-25 NHL Season began, and was demoted to the American Hockey League affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
Engvall's performance wasn't up to the standards expected by Roy, as he explained via TSN.
“I don't want to s— on him. I know Pierre is trying hard, and we are all trying hard. Right now, maybe, my expectations are higher than what he's been showing. That's all it is,” said Roy.
Engvall has three goals and two assists in 17 games played this season; he also recently signed a seven-year, $21 million deal with the club.
Is Islanders head coach Patrick Roy at odds with GM Lou Lamoreillo?
Following a recent loss, Roy voiced what many took as a criticism at Islanders general manager Lou Lamoreillo for the team roster he put together.
“I love these guys. They work hard. They're pushing,” the Islanders head coach said of his players, via Newsday's Andrew Gross. “It's the team that Lou gave me and I'm going to work extremely hard for these guys.”
This seemed to create a narrative that Roy and Lamoreillo aren't on the same page, less than a year after he was hired to replace the recently fired Lane Lambert.
Lamoreillo has shown no hesitancy to terminate head coaches during his career, most notably when he fired Claude Julien as New Jersey Devils head coach with three games left in the 2006-07 season and took his place on the bench; the decision caught everyone by surprise considering the Devils had already claimed a postseason spot and were on the way toward setting a franchise record in wins.
