Inside Mathieu Darche’s Decision to Hire Peter DeBoer

Mathieu Darche sent a jolt through the New York Islanders on Sunday, hiring Peter DeBoer as Head Coach and relieving Patrick Roy of his duties.

The move comes with four games remaining in the regular season and the Islanders one point out of a playoff spot. The move was made in part to spark an Islanders team the General Manager felt had become too loose defensively of late.  

“I just felt like the last little bit here we weren't as sharp, or we didn't get away with as much as we did before, because, let's face it, we got away with some stuff during the year,” Darche said. “I just felt at this moment, and the last little bit here, that we were sliding a bit.”

The Islanders suffered their fourth-straight loss on Saturday night, marking their first four-game losing streak of the season. They allowed a season-high eight goals to the Pittsburgh Penguins last Monday and seven goals to Montreal on March 21. The Islanders’ 16 shots on goal on Saturday were the second-fewest they’d recorded this season.

They are by no means giving up on the season, especially with four home games and a head-to-head matchup with the Ottawa Senators – who currently occupy the second Wild Card – on Saturday.

“Do we fully control our destiny? No, but what we control is the four games we're playing,” Darche said. “Moving forward I felt this put us in a better situation and a better opportunity to win those games and to be in the playoffs.”

As Darche alluded to, it wasn’t one game that spurred the change, but a recent trend, one that DeBoer could help fix. DeBoer brings a resume as an experienced coach with a defensive focus and while it might take longer than three practice days to enact his system, Darche felt the opportunity to get a top coach was beneficial in the long term.

“Guys like Pete DeBoer don't stay on the market very long,” Darche said. “His pedigree, I mean, he went to five of the last six conference finals. He's had success everywhere he's been. He's a very structured coach.”

A quick refresher on DeBoer’s resume. His 662 coaching wins are 18^th in NHL history. His 97 playoff wins are fifth in NHL history. He’s 9-0 in Game 7s. He’s taken two teams to a Stanley Cup Final (both in his first full year behind the bench) and was in six of the last seven conference finals, with three different teams.

“It's like grabbing the number one free agent on the market,” Darche said.

As positive as Darche was about the hiring of DeBoer, he touched on the tough decision to move on from Roy, who he said brought the team a long way in a year.

“It's not a fun day. It's not a fun thing to do,” Darche said. “Patrick has been awesome for the organization. He moved it forward. He’s an awesome person, passionate, and I just felt it was it was time just to move the group forward. It was time to make a change.”

“By no means is this all on Patrick,” Darche added. “Sometimes it's just a circumstance that you need a change and a different voice, and that was the time right now.”

Darche said there would be no change to the Islanders Assistant Coaches at this time. DeBoer had previously worked with Bob Boughner in San Jose, so there’s some familiarity there between the new coach and one of the assistants. There’s a little familiarity with the roster too, as DeBoer coached Bo Horvat at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina and Brayden Schenn at the 2015 IIHF World Championships. DeBoer and Schenn were spotted chatting at the boards towards the end of the Islanders practice.

Darche did not rule out some personnel changes for the Islanders down the stretch. Alexander Romanov, who has been sidelined since November with a shoulder injury, was a full participant in Monday’s practice and Darche said there was a possibility of him playing in the last two regular season games. Darche did not rule out calling up Victor Eklund from Bridgeport and praised DeBoer’s work with young players, such as Wyatt Johnston and Thomas Harley in Dallas.

“We’re looking at everything,” Darche said. “Every day we want to put the best roster we have [on the ice].”

The DeBoer era started on Monday morning, with a fast-paced practice. It even looked different, with the Islanders sporting different colored practice jerseys. It’s a move ultimately about the future, but there’s a job to do in the present. Three days will be devoted to practice and the Islanders will devote the next four games to making a playoff push.

“We don't control everything that's coming, but we do control the way we're playing in those four games,” Darche said. “I felt getting that jolt, and that may be a little different tweak to the structure, especially after the last little bit here those few days that was needed.”