New York Islanders Make Unexpected Coaching Change Hours After Win Against San Jose
The New York Islanders have had a fun start to 2025/26, but now they've made a shock change in goaltending coaches after a solid victory on Tuesday.
The New York Islanders entire organization has shifted in the last six months, beginning with the hiring of Mathieu Darche as GM following the departure of the controversial Lou Lamoriello.
Since then, the team have gotten rid of some of his stricter rules and landed a potential superstar in Matthew Schaefer No. 1 overall, and it has the future looking very, very bright on Long Island.
Islanders Make Unexpected Goalie Coach Change
Despite this however, they started the season 0-3-0 before winning three straight games heading into this one, and now, after a win over the San Jose Sharks, they've made a surprising decision.
According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the team have hired Sergei Naumov, who was with the AHL's Bridgeport Islanders to be the goaltending coach in the NHL, replacing Piero Greco in the process.
In recent times, the Islanders have improved, but six games into the season, they rank 28th in the league in goals allowed at 3.67 a game, and with a star like Ilya Sorokin in net, it's easy to see why this would bring frustration.
With the offense emerging in recent times, this team has shown they can be consistent and competitive, and if this shift leads to an improvement in net, there's no reason why the Islanders can't be a very competitive team throughout the remainder of the 2025/26 campaign.
Ultimately though, many believed that this season would be all about growth and development, but after three straight wins, this move signals that the front office believe they can be a force in the Metropolitan Division, so look for them to be aggressive in upgrading their team moving forward too.
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