Lambert takes a lot of heat here but he somehow took this team to the playoffs last year with only half a year from Barzal, Horvat and Pelech. I don't think he's a great (or even good ) coach, but given what we've seen this year, it seems clear that this mess isn't his fault. Let's not forget the team missed the playoffs in Trotz last year also.
Roy looks like a fine coach, but these players don't appear willing and/or able to bring the type of effort to be anything more than a fringe bubble team. It's sad to think that this roster is locked into place long term and the team has little in the way of top prospects or real cap room going forward. 7 years for Mayfield and Engvall? Really? How the hell are Martin and Clutterbuck still playing major minutes for this team? There's seriously no one better in the organization?
Lambert did make the playoffs and that was commendable. It was a new system and there were injuries that allowed me to give him more time as a coach to clean up the things I didn't like. The team was worse this year structurally for me and that's why he had to go. I don't really care so much about the record as much as how they're playing. He was able to get the team to take leads but couldn't figure out how to hold them. The structure in the defensive zone was comical.
Roy hopped in mid-season and is asking players to adjust the way they've been playing again, so there will be hiccups. I like what I've seen from a structure standpoint way more with Roy than I ever did with Lambert, despite the results. I don't know if Roy will be a good coach and will work out long term because there's more to coaching than just instilling a good system. I'd give him more time before judging him too harshly, especially when he's making clear statements about what is or isn't happening that he's seeing.
The roster is absolutely flawed and that's not Lambert or Roy's fault, that's squarely on Lamoriello. The Horvat deal has been great, as has the Romanov deal, but he hasn't done enough so far get this roster to a place where they've made noticeable strides. He needs to do more.