The New York Islanders made an absolutely bizarre move on Wednesday. Only six games into the season, and the Islanders on a three game winning streak, the organization decided to fire goaltending coach Piero Greco of Toronto, Ontario.
Why was Greco fired?
It appears to be related to a slow start for Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin of Mezhdurechensk, Russia. The 30-year-old netminder who has been with the organization for 11 years, has a record of two wins and three losses with a goals against average of 3.90 and a save percentage of .873. In four of the five games Sorokin has played, he has given up four goals. In three of those games, the Islanders lost. They were beaten 4-3 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 9, 4-2 to the Washington Capitals on October 11, and 5-2 to the Winnipeg Jets on October 13. In the loss to the Jets, Sorokin only gave up four goals, as Jets forward Mark Scheifele scored an empty netter.
Who is Greco’s replacement?
The Islanders have made the goaltending coach switch because new goaltending coach Sergei Naumov has coached Sorokin in the past when he has head great success. However one should note it did not come in the NHL, but with CSKA Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League. In two seasons working with Naumov, Sorokin had a record of 54 wins, 16 regulation losses and seven losses in extra time. He had 20 shutouts, a goals against average of 1.33 and a save percentage of .935.
KHL experience
Naumov had coached in the KHL from 2009 to 2024. In addition to being with CSKA Moscow for six seasons from 2018 to 2024, Naumov coached Dinamo Riga from 2009 to 2012, Donbass Donetsk from 2012 to 2014, Atlant Mytishchi from 2014 to 2015, and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl from 2015 to 2018. Naumov was in Lokomotiv Yaroslavl only four years after the devastating plane crash killed the entire team.
AHL experience
Naumov coached the American Hockey League’s Bridgeport Islanders during the 2024-25 season. Naumov was not very successful at all. The Islanders gave up 294 goals, the most in the AHL. Bridgeport lost their seven games of the season.
Why the Islanders may not need a goalie coach at all
The Islanders are in a unique circumstance because their head coach is Patrick Roy. During his time with the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche, Roy became one of the very best NHL goaltenders  ever.
