Islanders winger Anthony Duclair is out indefinitely after taking a personal leave of absence from the club, head coach Patrick Roy told reporters today (including Stefen Rosner of NHL.com).
Duclair wasn’t at this morning’s practice. After the Isles dropped a 4-1 game against the Lightning on Tuesday to extend their winless streak to six, Roy called Duclair’s performance postgame “god-awful” and said he was “lucky to be in the lineup.” Today, Roy told the media that “Anthony and I had a very good conversation, a very positive one, and Anthony asked me to take some time off and reflect. So, obviously, I agreed to that, and we’ll give him all the time that he needs.”
The 29-year-old simply hasn’t meshed on Long Island and with Roy, his head coach from his junior days with the Quebec Remparts. He negotiated himself a four-year, $14MM deal last summer to join the Isles on the opening day of free agency and even started the year on the top line alongside Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat. A leg injury sustained in his fifth game of the season derailed his campaign, though, keeping him on the sidelines for two months. Horvat inferred today that Duclair had also sustained a groin injury – either on the initial play or during his recovery today – that’s bothered him since his return.
As a result, Duclair’s production has been the worst of his career, even when grading it out on a per-game basis. He’s scored just 7-4–11 through 44 games with a -15 rating, the worst among Islanders forwards, while averaging a shade over 15 minutes per game.
Now in his 11th NHL season, Duclair’s shown the ability to be a strong complementary top-six winger when given other offensive weapons to play with. He excelled down the stretch in a top-line role for the Lightning last season after they acquired him from the Sharks at the deadline, posting 8-7–15 in just 17 games. He’s three years removed from a career-high 31-goal campaign in Florida, splitting time on the Panthers’ first and second lines that year. New York hoped he could provide that level of production in a first-line role, but injuries – not just to him, but to their shallow group of top-level offensive talents – have taken away that dream, at least for 2024-25.
With three years left on his deal, a reset in the relationship between the organization and Duclair is paramount. He carries a full no-trade clause through the 2025-26 campaign, although beginning July 1, 2026, Duclair can only block a move to 16 teams.
With eight games left in the Islanders’ season and their playoff chances down to 2% (per MoneyPuck), it stands to reason that Duclair is done for the year. That should mean extended top-six opportunities for wingers like Simon Holmström and Maxim Tsyplakov over the last couple of weeks of the campaign.
Mental health day?
He must have gotten his feelings hurt, How dare an NHL coach be honest with another adult, I bet Duclair is still collecting paychecks. Im shocked at how soft the NHL has become.
This dude has always been soft as charmin. It’s always the same people causing issues in every sport
Soft people?
Yep, go ahead and blow that dog whistle!
Yeah how dare he Take some time to reflect upon his performance and what’s going on inside of him. What is he like some kind of woman? All he needs is some booze and blow right yeah feelings are dumb! Time to numb!!! Yikes.
Who are we bringing up to replace him in the lineup? Oh , that’s right we have bupkis for prospects in Bridgeport thanks to Grandpa Lou’s excellent management skills. Knowing how the Islanders handle these things they’ll probably bring up another defenseman and play a man down up front. They should just throw in the towel now and get a jump on the summer. But first will someone please FIRE Grandpa Lou!!!!
boo hoo hoo, coach hurt my feelings. I want my mommy!!!! He’s a pansy.
I LOVE the usual suspects bashing Duclair for being soft while praising Roy for being tough on him.
Patrick Roy would never quit on his team, right?
Some big time loser energy in these comments. Keyboard warriors are so pathetic.
Facts don’t care about your feelings. Dude needs to be out of the league for good. Nothing but an overrated headache
Exactly.
The same way the ruler doesn’t care about yours and just keeps saying “not quite 4” no matter how sad or angry it makes you, facts don’t care about their feelings.
MarkAnthonyGeorgeAnderson- exactly, his teammates and coaches know not to trust him
Some clown has made two thinly-veiled racist comments in this thread.
Buddy, we know what you’re doing. You’re not good enough with words to get away with what you think you’re getting away with.
He’s 29 and has played for NINE teams.
Another great contract by Lou
Get Duclair out of the league
I don’t claim to know what goes on behind the scenes of the NYI, but does Roy call out Duclair if there isn’t at least some non-injury, non-mental component to these issues? It feels like players are very sheltered in the modern NHL & it takes some fairly egregious mistakes for a head coach to slam a guy in public like Roy did.