Inside the Islanders First Day with Peter DeBoer

Mathieu Darche called it a jolt. Peter DeBoer called it a reset. Whatever the label, Monday marked a new chapter for the New York Islanders as they took the ice for their first practice under DeBoer, the newly appointed Head Coach. 

"It took all of us by a little bit of surprise, but at the end of the day, this is on us," Bo Horvat said of the Islanders coaching change, which saw the team transition from Patrick Roy to DeBoer. "We weren't good enough, especially this past week. We take responsibility for everything that's happened, and it's on us to turn the tide and push these last four games to make the playoffs." 

The coaching change came on the heels of a four-game losing streak. Darche said it was the right time to make the move, though it was a tough decision.  

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

A full practice under DeBoer looked a bit different. The forward lines were distinct and grouped together in green, gray, blue and orange jerseys, while the defensemen wore white through the session. DeBoer, who said he was planning to tweak a few areas, frequently explained concepts on the whiteboard in a team huddle. The main focus on day one were on breakouts and d-zone coverage.  

"We all know we need to be a lot better defensively,” Adam Pelech said. “In here, our goalies have kind of been bailing us out all year, and we can do a lot better. We can do it. We can defend a lot better." 

DeBoer enters with a resume of immediately having success with new teams, taking the New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks in his first full seasons with the teams. He also took Vegas and Dallas to the Western Conference Final in each of his respective first years.   

“After 18 years in this league, I'd like to say that I think I have really strong beliefs on how a team needs to play, what's important to winning and what's important to winning in the playoffs,” DeBoer said. “I have a lot of non-negotiables on those things.”

Horvat recently had experience with DeBoer at the 2026 Winter Olympics, where they earned silver for Canada.  

“Being with him at the Olympics was special,” Horvat said. “[He’s] very detail oriented. He’ll demands a lot of us players, we're looking forward to getting started.” 

Brayden Schenn crossed paths with DeBoer in the 2015 IIHF World Championships. Although it was a short tournament and a long time ago, he still got a solid grasp of his character and coaching style.  

“Those tournaments are a little bit different since it’s not the grind of 82 games,” Schenn said. “But I know he’s a great person and good communicator, very structured and detailed. He’s been part of many successful teams.”

DeBoer said a couple of his non-negotiables are backchecking well and blocking shots, along with a defensive style of play that makes it tough on opponents. The Islanders are familiar with how well he ran his teams in his prior stops. He coached the Dallas Stars for three seasons and posted a personal-best .665 points percentage while leading them to the Western Conference Final in each of his three seasons. 

Even from a short sample size based on the first day of practice, Mathew Barzal said he brought a little of that "Dallas-feel" playing style.  

“When you play Dallas or Vegas in these last few years, you can feel the lack of time and space in their d-zone,” Barzal said. “That’s what he’s trying to eliminate, time and space for the opponent, that was his first key.”  

DeBoer has a track record of taking teams deep in the playoffs. He has a perfect 9-0 record in Game 7s. His 97 career playoff wins rank fifth all-time.

The Islanders (89 points) are one point outside of the playoff picture, chasing the Philadelphia Flyers (90 points) for third place in the Metro. The Boston Bruins (95 points) and the Ottawa Senators (90 points) hold the wild card spots in the Eastern Conference, while the Detroit Red Wings (88 points) and Columbus Blue Jackets (88 points) are out of the playoff picture, but are in the mix like the Isles. The only caveat is that Ottawa and Philly have one game in-hand over the Isles.  

The chase continues Thursday with a game against Toronto on home ice, followed by a head-to-head matchup with Ottawa on Saturday afternoon. 

“It’s do or die,” Schaefer said. “We’ll take it one game at a time, but every game is so big.” 

Until then, the Islanders are utilizing practice sessions to prepare and reset, taking full advantage of a four-day break without games.

“We have few days, we have an opportunity to have great practices,” Captain Anders Lee said. “Now we can continue to take in what he has to give us and the adjustments he wants to make.” 

The Islanders know the quality coach they’re getting by his impressive coaching resume - Zach Parise reached out to Captain Anders Lee to tell him that DeBoer is a great coach and person – so now they’re revved up and motivated to make a furious push for the playoffs.  

“We’ve won and lost together all year. What we’ve built as a team this season doesn’t change, just because we go on a four-game skid,” Lee said. “We just have to stick with one another. We put ourselves in a position to make the playoffs, we can go out there and get this thing done.”