Inside The Decision To Have Pulock & Palmieri Split The "A" After Nelson Departure
Patrick Roy explains why he's splitting the "A" between two of his veterans, with quotes from Kyle Palmieri and Ryan Pulock on receiving the honor.
When Brock Nelson left the team for Colorado on Friday morning, the New York Islanders had to call on someone to wear his “A”.
However, head coach Patrick Roy didn’t choose to award the letter to one player, opting to split the “A” between two players, for home and road games.
The two players he rewarded were veterans Kyle Palmieri and Ryan Pulock.
“It was my decision. I think they’re both really good leaders, and I didn't want to choose between the two of them,” Roy said following Thursday’s practice. “Actually, I asked, ‘Which one of you wants to have the ‘A’ at home and which one wants to have the ‘A’ on the road'?’, and Pully said, ‘Palmsy, be it at home and I'll be on the road.’”
“I love this. Sometimes you just let them make their own decisions, but I have these two guys as leaders on our team.”
Palmieri, who was not moved at the trade deadline, is working on an extension with the team. As I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve heard that Palmieri was offered a two-to-three-year deal lower than his current $5 million annually cap hit.
He’s someone who has now been a member of the organization for five seasons and has served as an alternate captain before when he was with the New Jersey Devils.
Here’s what Palmieri had to say and then Pulock on getting the honor: