Patrick Roy publicly questions Lou Lamoriello’s decision

Dose
Crédit:

Lou Lamoriello, President and General Manager of the New York Islanders, and Patrick Roy aren’t known for having their tongues in their pockets. When Roy was hired to coach the Long Island team, many wondered how the two hot-tempered personalities would get along.

Well, we may be witnessing the first friction between the coach and his general manager. Yesterday, following a 6-3 loss to the Florida Panthers after leading 3-0, Roy seems to have questioned his GM’s decision to recall player Pierre Engvall for the game, as reported by Toutsurlehockey.com.

Questioned in the post-game interview, the former goaltender said he understood what Engvall had done for the team over the past two years, and that he imagined (“I guess”) Lou thought it was a good time to call him back.

A little earlier, Roy had also said “I think Lou thinks physicality is important for us”.

The problem is that so far, Engvall has had a very ordinary start to the AHL season with the Islanders’ school team, with just one goal and a record of -3 in six games. Nothing to justify a recall…

Except perhaps his contract of three million a year until 2030! That’s a hefty price to pay for a player in the AHL, and it’s understandable that Lamoriello must be uncomfortable with the current situation. Whether to justify his contract or to trade his player, Lou ideally needs Engvall to play in the NHL.

But Roy wants and needs to win immediately. The Islanders are an aging team who want to get into the post-season playoffs while their window is still open, and hope to make a run for it afterwards.

And to get there, it’s understandable that the coach wants to give himself the best possible tools, and he doesn’t seem to consider Engvall to be one of them. In fact, the forward was Roy’s second-worst-used player in yesterday’s match, with just 10 minutes 37 minutes of playing time.

While Roy hasn’t openly questioned his general manager’s decision, he does seem to imply that he doesn’t endorse it or take the blame for it.

Are we already witnessing the end of the honeymoon between Pat and Lou? We know that Lamoriello can sometimes make surprising and impulsive decisions, especially if he’s not satisfied (talk to Claude Julien!).

And if the Islanders get off to a rocky start this season, could we see the former Canadiens goaltender quickly dismissed after waiting nearly seven years for a return to the bench of a National League team? It’s a little early to speculate, but it’ll be an interesting situation to follow!

In Overtime

– Kapanen and Hutson popular!

– A sixth win for Green Bay.

– Close game won by the Cards.

– Canadiens win.

– Listen up!

– Impressive!

– Really cute!

This content was created with the help of AI.