Islanders fire former Patrick Roy assistant

When the New York Islanders fired Patrick Roy in favor of Pete DeBoer, they decided to keep the remaining coaches on staff until the end of the season. Benoit Desrosiers was one of the assistant coaches remaining from Roy’s staff. Still, as a longtime assistant to the legendary goaltender, it’s no surprise he won’t be sticking around for the DeBoer era, according to Stefen Rosner via X, formerly Twitter.

“Islanders assistant coach Benoit Desrosiers has been relieved of his coaching duties, the team confirms,” Rosner reported. “Wishing him nothing but the best. Did a lot of great work in the FO dot his two-plus seasons on Long Island.”

It’s still unclear what Roy’s future looks like, with rumors that he’d stick around with the Islanders in a scouting role. The last time he was let go from the Colorado Avalanche, he returned to the QMJHL, where he owns the Quebec Remparts.

Desrosiers was an assistant coach for the Remparts during Roy’s tenure there, but was hired as head coach of the Gatineau Olympiques during the 2023-24 season. After four months with the Olympiques, Desrosiers left to follow Roy to New York.

It might be an underrated part of the game, but Desroches actually turned the Islanders from the worst faceoff team in the league to one of the best. If Roy doesn’t pursue other coaching opportunities, it’s possible that you’ll see another NHL team approach Desroches for an assistant role, given he could make that much of an impact in a small area of the game.

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