Islanders Fire Goaltending Coach in Unexpected Move
The New York Islanders have made a surprising decision by firing their goaltending coach, Piero Greco, after only six games into the season, despite a three-game winning streak. The general manager, Mathieu Darche, announced the abrupt separation on Wednesday, promoting Sergei Naumovs from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League. Naumovs, of Latvian nationality, has been in Bridgeport since May 2024 and has extensive experience training the franchise’s star goalie, Ilya Sorokin, from their time together at CSKA Moscow of the KHL between 2018 and 2020. Sorokin has had a challenging start to the season, with a goals-against average of 3.90, the second-worst in the NHL, and a save percentage of .873, the fourth-worst among goalies with at least four games played.Darche stated that the decision was exclusively his and that he did not seek the opinion of Sorokin, who is in the second year of a $66 million contract that extends until 2032. In other news related to the Islanders, injured forward Pierre Engvall underwent ankle surgery and is expected to miss the entire season, approximately five to six months. On the other hand, goaltender Semyon Varlamov continues to progress in his recovery from knee surgery. Due to injuries to some players and the salary cap situation, the Islanders placed forward Marc Gatcomb on waivers. The 26-year-old player has only participated in one game this season.“Piero has done a great job for the organization over the last seven years. We just felt this was the right time to reset with our goaltenders,” Darche stated.
Mathieu Darche, General Manager of the Islanders
