Patrick Roy Transforming the New York Islanders Offense

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When Patrick Roy took over the New York Islanders bench midway through the 2023-24 season, most hockey analysts focused on the immediate defensive improvements he brought to a struggling franchise. The team had been leaking goals under Lane Lambert’s system, and Roy’s arrival stabilized the blue line almost overnight. But what has emerged in his first full season as head coach reveals something far more ambitious than a simple defensive fix. Roy is methodically transforming the Islanders from a defense-first grinder into a legitimately dangerous offensive unit—a seismic shift for an organization that spent years building its identity around low-scoring, structure-heavy hockey.

The early returns from the 2025-26 season tell a story of evolution rather than revolution. After averaging just 2.71 goals per game in 2024-25, ranking near the bottom of the league, the Islanders have jumped to 3.75 goals per game through their first eight contests. More importantly, they’re averaging nearly 30 shots per game, placing them eighth overall. These aren’t just statistical anomalies—they represent a fundamental change in how the team approaches offensive zone time, transition play, and scoring chance generation.

How Patrick Roy is transforming the New York Islanders offense through system changes

Roy’s transformation of the Islanders offense begins with a philosophical departure from the Barry Trotz era. Where Trotz preached defensive structure above all else, Roy has implemented what he calls a “second quick” mentality—an aggressive approach that emphasizes speed, transition, and attacking mentality. Coming from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where he coached the Quebec Remparts, Roy brought a system built for today’s NHL: fast, skilled, and relentless in its pursuit of offensive zone time.

The most visible change comes in how the Islanders move the puck through the neutral zone. Gone are the dump-and-chase sequences that defined recent seasons. Instead, Roy encourages controlled entries, stretch passes, and quick transitions that catch opponents on their heels. The team’s defensemen have been given unprecedented freedom to join the rush, creating numerical advantages and adding another layer of unpredictability to the attack.

This freedom extends throughout the lineup. Forwards are no longer locked into rigid positional play. They’re encouraged to support the puck, create passing lanes, and rotate through offensive zones with fluidity. The result is a team that generates high-danger chances through movement rather than grinding shifts that wear down opponents over sixty minutes.

According to Natural Stat Trick data, the Islanders’ Corsi For Percentage and expected goals rate have both climbed significantly compared to last season. They’re not just shooting more—they’re creating better opportunities from dangerous areas. The emphasis on efficient zone time means the Islanders sustain pressure longer, cycle the puck more effectively, and convert on chances that previously would have ended in turnovers or low-percentage shots from the perimeter.

Patrick Roy transforming the New York Islanders offense starts with fresh personnel

Roy’s system requires different types of players than what the Islanders traditionally valued, and general manager Mathieu Darche has responded accordingly. The offseason additions of Jonathan Drouin and the acquisition of Emil Heineman in the Noah Dobson trade have provided exactly the kind of skill and creativity Roy needs to execute his vision.

Drouin’s impact has been immediate and measurable. His playmaking ability and vision have transformed the power play from a liability into a functional unit. After ranking in the bottom five last season, the Islanders’ man advantage now operates near league average—a critical development for a team that needs every goal it can manufacture. His chemistry with Bo Horvat has been particularly noteworthy, as the pair has connected on multiple quick-passing sequences that generate high-quality chances.

Horvat himself has flourished under Roy’s more aggressive system. Through the first eight games of 2025-26, he’s tallied nine points with a plus-6 rating, playing with a confidence and creativity often stifled in previous seasons. The freedom to take chances, to make plays in traffic, and to shoot from dangerous areas has unlocked a level of offensive production that makes him look like the player Vancouver once had.

But perhaps the most surprising development has been Emil Heineman’s explosive start. With five goals in eight games, the young winger has given the Islanders a legitimate scoring threat on the wing—exactly what they’ve lacked for years. His ability to finish plays, combined with his willingness to drive to the net, makes him a perfect fit for Roy’s system.

The youth movement extends to the blue line. Eighteen-year-old Matthew Schaefer, the team’s 2024 first-round pick, has stepped directly into the NHL lineup with remarkable poise. Already contributing seven points in eight games as a rookie defenseman, Schaefer embodies the kind of mobile, offensively-capable defender that modern systems demand. His ability to move the puck quickly in transition adds an element of speed the Islanders’ blue line has lacked, and Roy has trusted him with power play time and late-game shifts.

The offensive transformation faces growing pains in Patrick Roy’s system

Despite the early offensive surge, Roy’s transformation hasn’t been without complications. The same aggressive approach that generates goals also creates defensive vulnerabilities. Through the season’s first weeks, the Islanders ranked 26th in shots allowed per 60 minutes and 31st in expected goals against at five-on-five. The man-to-man system that worked so effectively when Roy first arrived has shown cracks as teams adjust to the Islanders’ tendencies.

The additional freedom given to defensemen like Tony DeAngelo and Schaefer to activate offensively has occasionally left the Islanders exposed on the rush. Forward backchecking has become inconsistent, and the team has bled high-danger chances at an alarming rate. In a 5-4 victory over Ottawa, the Islanders defense was caught out of position repeatedly, trading rushes and opportunities in a game that highlighted both the promise and peril of Roy’s approach.

“There’s a couple moments where we shot ourselves in the foot, especially at the end of the second [period],” Jonathan Drouin said after the Ottawa game. “There’s some stuff we have to look at and be a little more mature, a little better with puck decisions.”

Captain Anders Lee, who has witnessed multiple coaching philosophies during his time on Long Island, acknowledged the challenge. “I think both sides could go back and clean up a few things. It was one of those nights where [you’re] trading rushes and trading opportunities. You don’t want to see that every night.”

The penalty kill has emerged as a particular concern. Despite Roy’s midseason improvements last year, the Islanders have struggled shorthanded, killing at just 71.4% through the early season. This represents a significant problem for a team trying to balance offensive aggression with defensive responsibility. Roy has indicated plans to return to the “flush” system that once made the Islanders one of the league’s best penalty-killing teams, focusing on forcing shooters to their backhands and clogging shooting lanes.

Finding the right balance between offense and defense remains Roy’s greatest challenge. The Islanders cannot simply outscore their defensive lapses—they don’t have the elite offensive talent of teams like Colorado or Tampa Bay. What they need is the hybrid approach: aggressive enough to generate three-plus goals per game while maintaining enough defensive structure to keep opponents below that threshold.

What Patrick Roy transforming the New York Islanders offense means moving forward

The bigger picture reveals a franchise at a crossroads. For years, the Islanders built their identity around defensive excellence, grinding opponents into submission through structure and discipline. That approach brought playoff appearances but rarely deep runs. The offensive ceiling was simply too low, the scoring depth too shallow to compete with the Metropolitan Division’s elite.

Roy’s transformation represents a bet on evolution. In a division featuring speed demons in Carolina, skill machines in New Jersey, and the perennial powerhouse Rangers, the Islanders cannot succeed by simply defending better than everyone else. They need to score, to create, to threaten opponents with offensive weapons beyond Mathew Barzal and Horvat.

The early statistical improvements suggest Roy is on the right track. More shots, better expected goals numbers, and contributions from throughout the lineup indicate a team learning to attack with purpose. The addition of young players like Heineman, Schaefer, Simon Holmstrom, and Ruslan Iskhakov creates internal competition and energy that older, more settled rosters often lack.

But sustainability remains the question. Can the Islanders maintain a 3.75 goals-per-game pace over 82 games? Can they tighten defensive gaps without sacrificing offensive creativity? Can Ilya Sorokin, who has shown cracks early in the season, rediscover his Vezina-caliber form to bail out the occasional defensive breakdown?

The Hockey Writers reports that special teams consistency and depth scoring beyond the top contributors will separate good teams from legitimate threats. The power play must continue improving, the third and fourth lines must chip in offensively, and the team must avoid the defensive collapses that have plagued early performances.

Roy’s system also faces the test of time. When he took over Colorado, early success eventually gave way to systemic problems. Whether that was due to roster construction, player buy-in, or system limitations remains debated. But it serves as a cautionary tale: systems that work initially can lose effectiveness as opponents adjust and exploit weaknesses.

For now, the transformation continues. Roy enters each practice and game with the goal of balancing aggression with responsibility, creativity with structure. His players are adapting to increased freedom, learning when to attack and when to protect. The coaching staff, featuring new additions and revised philosophies, works to implement concepts that maximize the roster’s strengths while minimizing its limitations.

The Islanders of 2025-26 don’t look like the Islanders of even two years ago. They push the pace, take chances, and generate offense in ways that would have been unthinkable under previous regimes. Whether this transformation ultimately succeeds depends on Roy’s ability to refine the details without losing the aggressive mentality that has sparked the early improvement. The franchise has committed to a new identity—one that values scoring as much as defending, one that sees offense as strength rather than luxury. Patrick Roy’s vision for the New York Islanders represents more than tactical adjustments or personnel changes. It represents a fundamental reimagining of what this team can become in a league that increasingly rewards speed, skill, and the courage to take risks. The question isn’t whether Roy is changing the Islanders—the question is whether those changes can sustain themselves through the grinding reality of an 82-game season and whatever playoff challenges await beyond.