Islanders star Matthew Schaefer breaks his silence on Patrick Roy’s firing
Photo credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Tonight, New York Islanders rookie phenom Matthew Schaefer broke his silence on the team’s surprising late season coaching change.
The New York Islanders despite being in a Stanley Cup Playoff spot made the shocking decision to fire head coach Patrick Roy.
They then immediately hired top free agent candidate Pete DeBoer before any other team could scoop him up.
With the Islanders in a playoff spot the move came as a surprise and some thought it might cause problems in the locker room.
Now, Matthew Schaefer has spoken and discussed how the move was received in the locker room.
Matthew Schaefer speaks out after the Islanders fire head coach Patrick Roy
During his latest press conference, Schaefer spoke about the coaching change and admitted the team feels responsible for Roy losing his job and he credits Roy for helping him feel comfortable as a rookie.
Patty’s helped me so much with just my first year in the NHL. Coming in as an 18-year-old, Patty and the whole coaching staff have helped me so much. We take full responsibility.
Despite the shock and disappointment of this move, Schaefer is excited to learn from his new bench boss Pete DeBoer.
Matthew Schaefer said he's heard great things about new coach Peter DeBoer and "a lot of his teams have done so good." Schaeffer said he looks forward to learning from DeBoer.
With just a few games left in the NHL season, Schaefer and his teammates will have to learn DeBoer’s style quickly if they want to make any noise once the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin.
As the team adjusts to DeBoer’s style it will be interesting to see if the change pays off or ends up setting the Islanders back.
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