Patrick Roy provides emphatic win at first Islanders press conference

Winning the press conference counts for nothing. 

But Patrick Roy’s first press conference as head coach of the Islanders was an emphatic victory. 

The Hall-of-Fame goaltender, who last coached in the NHL in 2016, ran the gamut in talking about what it means for him to coach the Islanders, citing the Dynasty teams that won the franchise four championships. 

“I couldn’t say no to this opportunity. I like what I’ve seen in this organization because it brings a lot of memories to me,” Roy said. “When I walked into the practice facility and seeing all those banners outside — when I was a teenager I was watching those games and watching those guys. And I remember they had those runs, obviously, those four Stanley Cups that ended in ’83 and then I started my career in ’85. 

“And I was playing in the Coliseum then … that was like, man look at that lineup. There’s [Denis] Potvin on defense, there’s [Bryan] Trottier, there’s [Mike] Bossy, there’s [Clark] Gillies, Hall of Famer Billy Smith on the other side. I was very intimidated and I’m very proud to be in the footsteps of these guys and hopefully that I could make the difference as well.” 

That is the sort of answer that Lane Lambert never gave, in a press conference that showed the sort of comfort dealing with a large cohort of media that Lambert never had. 

Lambert never was able to win over a fan base that, in truth, never wanted to see Barry Trotz fired to begin with.

That came to a head throughout this season when the UBS Arena crowd chanted for his firing. 

Roy has the advantage of being one of the sport’s best ever goalies, but there were also nods to the fans that his predecessor never gave. 

“Our fan base is extremely important,” Roy said. “I want the fans to come to our games and be excited about our performance. I want our fans to walk in the street wearing that jersey and be so proud of that team. And that’s my objective.” 

That won’t matter for much if the Islanders can’t turn around a season that started 19-15-11, with the team sixth in the Metropolitan Division and currently out of the playoff picture. 

But for a fan base that spent much of this year frustrated and angry at management, Saturday felt like a long-awaited victory.