Unexpected Changes for the Islanders: Goalie Coach Fired
The New York Islanders have made a surprising decision by firing their goaltending coach, Piero Greco, after only six games of the season and following a three-game winning streak. The general manager, Mathieu Darche, announced the unexpected decision on Wednesday, communicating Greco’s departure and the promotion of Sergei Naumovs from Bridgeport, an American Hockey League team. 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 currently has a goals-against average of 3.90, the second-worst in the NHL, and a save percentage of .873, the fourth-worst among goalies who have played at least four games.Darche stated that the decision was exclusively his and was not based on the opinion of Sorokin, who is in the second year of a $66 million contract that extends to 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, according to Darche. In addition, goaltender Semyon Varlamov continues to progress in his recovery from knee surgery. Due to injuries to other players and the limitation of space on the salary cap, the Islanders placed forward Marc Gatcomb on waivers. The 26-year-old player had only participated in one game this season.Piero has done a great job for the organization over the last seven years. We simply felt this was the right time for a reset with our goaltenders.
Mathieu Darche, General Manager of the Islanders
