Tensions between Patrick Roy and Lou Lamoriello have reached a critical level in New York Islanders.
While the team has just won a 4th consecutive victory, Roy posted his determination at a press conference by claiming that he does not want to know anything about a status as a seller.
For him, it is out of the question to see Brock Nelson or Kyle Palmieri leave the team, and he firmly believes that the Islanders can still qualify for the playoffs.
“Anything is possible,” said Roy in front of the journalists.
And he is not wrong. The Icelanders are only six points from the last place in series, currently held by the Blue Jackets of Columbus, with two games in hand.
Roy is convinced that his team is finding his pace and that she is able to surprise.
However, this optimistic vision does not seem to be shared by Lou Lamoriello. The director general of Icelanders, known for his impulsive approach and his obsession with the short term, seems today to want to initiate a reconstruction.
According to several internal sources, Lamoriello has explored the possibility of exchanging Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri in order to rejuvenate the team and accumulate assets for the future.
The conflict between the two men is more visible than ever. Roy publicly expressed his wish to build on the current dynamics and to seek reinforcements to strengthen the team in the short term.
For its part, Lamoriello sees an opportunity to realign the organization in a long-term trajectory, even if it means sacrificing certain key players.
The disagreement between the two men took a dramatic turn when rumors emerged on a potential exchange of Mathew Barzal for Elias Pettersson of Vancouver Canucks.
This idea, which would have been initiated by Lamoriello, is perceived as a betrayal by Roy, which maintains a privileged relationship with Barzal and considers it as the cornerstone of the team.
According to journalist Dan Rosen, close to the organization, this exchange proposal created a shock wave within the locker room.
Patrick Roy does not hide his admiration for Mathew Barzal. He is convinced that the team must be built around him and that an exchange would be a monumental error.
Lamoriello, on the other hand, seems to want to turn the page on this era and bet on a player who, according to him, is better with the future of the team.
The DG of the New York Islanders have expressed a marked interest in Elias Pettersson, and a key factor in this case is the close relationship between Pettersson and Bo Horvat.
The former captain of the Vancouver Canucks was a mentor for the Swedish player during their common passage in the Western Canada, and this friendship could play a crucial role in the future decisions of the Icelanders.
According to several sources close to the situation in Vancouver, the Islanders were among the most persistent teams in their investigation into Pettersson.
Can this relationship between the two players influence a potential transaction?
Bo Horvat and Elias Pettersson played together for almost five years in Vancouver, where Horvat held the role of captain for three and a half seasons.
During this period, Horvat played an essential role in the development of Pettersson, helping the young player to integrate into the NHL and to face the pressure of playing in a demanding market like Vancouver.
Their friendship goes beyond hockey. They developed a chemistry that resulted in ice in a mutual understanding and unshakable confidence in crucial moments.
Horvat has often publicly underlined the talent and work ethics of Pettersson, while the latter has always considered Horvat as a mentor and a leader in the locker room.
Meanwhile, Mathew Barzal is from Coquitlam, British Columbia, a city located in the suburbs of Vancouver.
From an early age, he grew up admiring the Canucks, his childhood team. Growing up in a region where hockey is omnipresent, Barzal has often expressed its admiration for the star players of the Canucks of the time, including the twins Sedin and Ryan Kesler.
He evolved in the British Columbia minor hockey system, playing for the Burnaby Winter Club Bruins before joining the Thunderbirds of Seattle in the WHL. S
-We link deep with the province and his attachment to the culture of hockey in Vancouver make him an ideal candidate for a transaction to the Canucks, where he could not only evolve in a familiar environment, but also to embrace the role of the franchise of the franchise that he admired so much in his youth.
With the current tensions in the cannucks locker room, especially between Pettersson and JT Miller, the Icelanders hope to capitalize on this situation.
The acquisition of Pettersson would be a major movement for the Islanders, who seek to add a franchise player capable of energizing their attack.
With an 8 -year contract worth $ 11.6 million per season, obtaining Pettersson would represent a significant commitment to the future of the organization.
However, to acquire Pettersson, the Canucks would ask Mathew Barzal in return and other elements.
This is where the tensions between Patrick Roy and Lou Lamoriello are intensifying. Roy, who considers Barzal as an untouchable player and a leader in the making, refuses to separate from his talented center.
Lamoriello, for its part, sees in this exchange an opportunity to refresh the team and bet on a Pettersson-Horvat combination to revitalize the attack.
Patrick Roy publicly expressed his wish to keep the current nucleus intact, emphasizing the importance of team chemistry and the central role that Barzal plays within the locker room.
This divergence of vision has become the symbol of a deep fracture between the coach and his director general.
Behind this confrontation hides an uncomfortable reality for Patrick Roy: he desperately wants to prove that he is able to lead a team to the series, and above all, he wishes to obtain the complete reins of hockey decisions.
Since arriving in New York, Roy has always had a bigger dream in mind: that of becoming managing director. This open conflict with Lamoriello may well be its best opportunity to achieve this.
Indeed, Roy wants to build around his current nucleus, adding some masterpieces without dismantling the existing group. For him, Nelson and Palmieri are essential, and Barzal is untouchable.
“It is not by selling our best players that we will move forward,“Repeated Roy at a press conference.
Its detractors, however, emphasize that the Roy’s plan is risky, because the current team is aging and lacks depth to compete with the best training in the league.
Ironically, Lamoriello, often criticized for always having put everything on the present to the detriment of the future, seems to take the opposite view of his own philosophy today.
After having multiplied the exchanges of recovery choice to acquire extra players, the 82 -year -old veteran suddenly seeks to rebuild.
A flip-flop which does not go unnoticed and which reinforces the idea that it is time for the Islanders to change direction.
Supporters are torn between the daring vision of Roy and the prudence of Lamoriello.
Some people think that the time has come to give Roy more power, while others believe that the coach is too passionate and lack of realism.
The owners of the Islanders will soon be forced to intervene to decide this dispute. Two scenarios seem to take shape:
Lamoriello keeps control and starts reconstruction, which could lead to a resignation from Roy, who would refuse to work under these conditions.
Patrick Roy takes on the braid and becomes managing director, thus starting a new management cycle focused in the short term with the ambition to win immediately.
In any case, the end of the season will be decisive for the future of Icelanders. An extension of their victorious sequence could give credit to Roy and reduce Lamoriello’s hopes to set up its long -term vision.
The conflict between Patrick Roy and Lou Lamoriello is boiling in Long Island, and a decisive confrontation is coming.
On the one hand, a passionate coach who believes in his players and refuses the idea of a reconstruction. On the other, an aging managing director who seeks to rebuild a breathless team.
