Lou Lamoriello, the president and general manager of the New York Islanders, and Patrick Roy are not known for being tight-lipped. When Roy was hired as coach of the Long Island team, many wondered how the cohabitation between the two personalities with their fiery personalities would go.
Well we are possibly witnessing the first frictions between the coach and its general director. Yesterday, following a 6-3 defeat against the Florida Panthers, after leading 3-0, Roy seems to have questioned his GM’s decision to recall player Pierre Engvall for the match as reported by the site Toutsurlehockey. com.
Asked in the post-match interview, the former goalkeeper said he understands what Engvall has done for the team over the past two years and that he imagines (“I guess”) that Lou thought it was a good time to remind him.
A little earlier, Roy had also said “I think Lou thinks physicality is important for us.”
The problem is that so far, Engvall had a very ordinary start to the AHL season with the Islanders’ farm club with just one goal and a -3 record in six games. Nothing to justify a recall…
Except perhaps his contract of three million per year until 2030! That’s a lot to pay for a player in the American League and we can understand that Lamoriello must not be comfortable with the current situation. Whether to justify his contract or to trade his player, Lou ideally needs to play Engvall in the NHL.
However, Roy wants and must win immediately. The Islanders are an aging team that wants to make the postseason while their window is still open and hope to make some progress after that.
And to achieve this, we can understand that the coach wants to give himself the best possible tools and he does not seem to consider that Engvall is one of them. Moreover, the striker was the second least used player by Roy during yesterday’s meeting with only 10 minutes 37 of playing time.
If Roy did not openly question his general manager’s decision, he seems to imply that he does not endorse it and that he does not take the blame for it.
Are we already seeing the end of Pat and Lou’s honeymoon? We know that Lamoriello can sometimes make surprising and impulsive decisions, especially if he is not satisfied (talk to Claude Julien!).
And in the event of a difficult start to the season with the Islanders, could we see a rapid dismissal of the former Canadian goalkeeper after a wait of almost seven years before his return behind a bench of a team in the National line? It’s a little early to speculate, but it’s going to be an interesting situation to follow!
In burst
– Kapanen et Hutson populaires!
– A sixth victory for Green Bay.
– Close game won by the Cards.
– Canadian victory.
– To listen!
– Impressive!
– Really cute!
