Islanders & Pete DeBoer Open Up on Shocking Signing: 'Out of Left Field'

 It was quite the shock on Easter Sunday, when the New York Islanders pulled a rabbit (Easter bunny?) out of their hat, and replaced head coach Patrick Roy with longtime bench boss veteran Pete DeBoer. 

With only four games to play, the Islanders will have to make up a one-point deficit to get back into playoff positioning, either in the Metropolitan Division or a Wild Card spot. 

And with DeBoer reporting for his first day on the job on Monday, he opened up about the stunning turn of events that brought him to Long Island.

Honestly, this did come out of left field. 

When I first picked up the phone, my initial reaction was probably exactly what you guys are saying: ‘We’re two weeks away from offseason, what’s the rush? And (GM Mathieu Darche) sold me on the organization and the vision and the direction and their ownership.

As for why he made the move, Darche compared it to July 1:

“It’s like grabbing the No. 1 free agent on the market. 

"Pete’s an outstanding coach… Guys like Pete DeBoer don’t stay on the market very long,” Darche said. “And his pedigree, he went to five of the last six conference finals. He’s had success everywhere he’s been. He’s a very structured coach… His success speaks for itself.”

Islanders get the jump on the competition, grabbing 'No. 1 free agent' of coaching ranks

There will be a number of teams looking for a new head coach this summer, so the Islanders get the jump on everyone else by locking up DeBoer now. He gets another three seasons after this one on his deal to lead the Isles. 

With a scheduling quirk, DeBoer gets three full days of practice to work with the team before the Islanders' next game on Thursday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

Led by a Vezina-like season from Ilya Sorokin in goal, and the dominating, sensational rookie year from Matthew Schaefer, the Islanders did hold down a playoff spot all season, until a recent swoon that has seen them go 10-10-0. 

The new head coach will try to right the ship just in the nick of time.