Peter DeBoer Offers Perspective on Islanders After Becoming Head Coach

Perspective was the word of the day as Peter DeBoer was introduced as the New York Islanders new Head Coach.

As an outsider, DeBoer could offer a different perspective on an Islanders team looking to tighten up defensively and make a playoff push with four games remaining on their schedule.

“We’re going to tweak some things,” DeBoer said. “This is a good team. There are good people in there. They were doing a lot of good things for big parts of this year. So we just try and get that back on track.”

DeBoer also talked about some inner perspective he’d gained from a year spent out of the game – his first season not behind an NHL bench in 18 years. He felt maybe he’d taken for granted the privilege of being in the NHL, too caught up in the grind to realize how great the experience really is.

The new coach relayed that to his new team on Monday, reminding them not to take for granted that despite being one point out of the playoffs, they were in a position to take a run at the postseason.

“You get a little different perspective about how fortunate we are to do what we do,” DeBoer said of this past year. “How great it is to be in the position we're in with four games left, chance to be playing in the playoffs in less than two weeks. And don't take that for granted.”

Islanders General Manager and EVP Mathieu Darche said DeBoer’s hiring was about more than just this season, but the most pressing task is sparking an Islanders team one point out of a playoff spot.

“I felt getting that jolt, and that maybe a little different tweak to the structure, especially after the last little bit here, that was needed,” Darche said.

DeBoer’s track record speaks for itself. 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.

When the new coach says he has “strong beliefs” and “non-negotiables” on how a team needs to play to win and win in the playoffs, he speaks from experience.

“It's the details of the game,” DeBoer said of his non-negotiables. “Line changes, back-checking, effort, stopping in D-zone coverage. Willingness to take a turn and block a shot if it's your turn, just all the intangibles that go into playing winning hockey this time of year.”

DeBoer was likely to be a hot commodity at the end of the season when more teams considered a change at the coaching position. He could have waited to weigh his offers, but said he was intrigued by Darche’s “vision,” “direction” and Islanders ownership. DeBoer, who previously coached the New Jersey Devils from 2011-14 said he felt a sense of familiarity, both with coaching in the Tri-State Area, as well as staffers who’d been with him back in his Jersey days.

“The decision was the people,” DeBoer said. “There's a lot of familiarity with the division, this area of the country, the passion of the cities in this area. But most importantly, I think what Matthew sold me on is the vision here.”

The vision includes a chance to coach Matthew Schaefer, who DeBoer said he scouted as part of Team Canada’s Olympic coaching staff and said was “within a razor” of making Team Canada.

“I couldn't believe my eyes the first half of the year, what I was seeing from an 18 year old, and the maturity in his game and how dynamic he was,” DeBoer said. “I’m really excited to work with him and get to know him as a young man.”

DeBoer also praised the work of Bo Horvat on Team Canada and had a lengthy chat with Brayden Schenn, who he coached at the IIHF World Championships in 2015, on the ice at practice. Both players had rave reviews for the new coach, speaking to how detailed and structured DeBoer is.

Darche had a similar assessment, speaking to how DeBoer could help a team that had started to slide get back on track. If the first word of the day was perspective – the second was reset, which the Islanders will have a chance to do over three days of practice, four games and the final eight days of the regular season.

“It's an opportunity to really reset, simplify, and get this rolling the right direction,” DeBoer said.