Islanders hire DeBoer, big underdogs to make playoffs
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- New York Islanders fired Patrick Roy following four straight losses and hired Peter DeBoer, who was reportedly signed not just for the rest of this season but for three additional years.
- Peter DeBoer is now with his sixth NHL team; he previously took the New Jersey Devils (2012) and San Jose Sharks (2016) to the Stanley Cup Final but has never won a championship.
- The Islanders have just four games left, all at home, and entered Monday one point behind the Flyers for third in the Metropolitan Division and one point behind the Senators for the second Eastern Conference wild card.
- Major sportsbooks list the Islanders as +210 to +240 underdogs to reach the playoffs, compared to roughly pick'em odds for the Flyers and -320 to -400 for the Senators.
- Vegas Golden Knights fired Bruce Cassidy and hired John Tortorella, who has won all three games since taking over; Vegas sits one point behind Edmonton and Anaheim for first in the Pacific Division.
- The Islanders haven't won the Stanley Cup since 1983 and would miss the playoffs for a second consecutive season if they fail to qualify.
- Mathieu Darche, the Islanders' general manager, made the coaching change after New York went 7-10-0 following a season-high five-game winning streak that bridged the Olympic break.
Why it matters: The Islanders trail by one point in both the Metro Division and wild-card races with four games left, all at home. Sportsbooks price them at +210 to +240 to qualify, while a multi-year commitment to DeBoer signals ownership is investing in a longer rebuild than the four-game sample can validate — and the schedule ends against the Hurricanes and Canadiens, two of the East's top teams.
