While teams continue to make changes to their coaching staffs, the New York Islanders have yet to officially announce if assistant coaches John MacLean and Doug Houda will be behind the bench for the 2024-25 season.
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Both were hired when Lane Lambert was elevated from associate head coach to head coach following Barry Trotz's dismissal after the 2021-22 season, and both survived when the first-year head coach was fired on Jan. 20.
MacLean has been in charge of the offense and the power play, while Houda's focus has been on the defense and the penalty kill.
In 2022-23, the Islanders averaged 2.95 goals per game (22nd) before seeing it elevate a few ticks to 2.99 this past season (22nd).
The power play, which was horrific in 2022-23, coming through at just 15.8 percent (30th), was better this past season, with a success rate of 20.4 percent (19th).
Over Roy's 37 games behind the bench, the power play came through at 17.6 percent.
It still wasn't good, particularly when the games mattered most (3-for-11 in playoffs), but with many assistant coaches already finding new homes, it seems likely that MacLean will remain behind the bench, as we have not heard his name regarding opening assistant positions.
No, his son Kyle getting a three-year extension worth $775,000 annually has no barring on what happens to John.
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However, while Houda's name hasn't been out there as well, it shouldn't be a shock if he isn't back this upcoming season.
Despite staying on when Roy hired Benoit Desrosiers , his defensive-minded assistant when he was behind the Quebec Rempart's bench, the defense and penalty kill were atrocious this past season.
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The Islanders penalty kill, which came through at an 82.2 percent clip (9th) in 2022-23, finished the 2023-24 season as the worst in the NHL, at 71.5 percent.
In 37 games under Roy, the shorthanded unit came through just 69.1 percent of the time, allowing five power-play goals to Carolina on 15 attempts (66.7 percent).
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The defense's play wasn't good enough either, with New York allowing 3.15 goals per game in 2023-24 (15th).
Don't be fooled by the Islanders having the fifth-best defense in 2022-23, allowing 2.65 goals per game, as Ilya Sorokin bailed the team out on his way to being named a Vezina finalist.
If Houda is relieved of his duties, the Islanders wouldn't have to hire his replacement, as Desrosiers is here.
It certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility that Roy keeps all three coaches, but if one of MacLean or Houda is out, it's likely the latter.
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