Hudson Fasching's wife broke the news to him that Patrick Roy was becoming his head coach.
The writing was on the wall in late January: New York Islanders head coach Lane Lambert was running out of time.
The team was spiraling, and after a 0-3-1 road trip that saw them lose a heartbreaker to the Nashville Predators in the dying seconds of the third, a lack of effort loss to the Minnesota Wild, a solid showing but another loss to the Winnipeg Jets, before falling to the weak Chicago Blackhawks in overtime to conclude the trip on Jan. 19.
On Jan. 20, Lambert was out of a job, which wasn't a shock.
The shock was that Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello hired Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy, who hadn't coached in the NHL since the 2015-16 season with the Colorado Avalanche.
"Yeah, it was a shock to the team," Islanders forward Hudson Fasching said. "We didn't get any heads-up."
Many of these players grew up watching Roy stop the best in the world while also losing his cool...from time to time.
"I remember my wife and I were just walking around, and she's like, 'Patrick Roy (Roy pronunciation) is your coach now?' And I was like, 'I think you said Patrick Roy. Actually, that's Patrick Roy (Wah).
"Yeah, he's kind of a big deal.'"
Fasching, a fringe starter under Roy, loved what his new head coach brought to the team.
"It was fun. He was he's an intense guy, and he asked a lot from us," Fasching said. "I think we all, obviously, have a lot of respect for him, and it was a lot of fun.
"You can see how much of a competitor he is and how he doesn't have any give in his game as a coach," Fasching said. "It definitely bleeds into us quite a bit. I don't think we ever gave up, and I think that was kind of evident in our season."
Fasching got hurt early on in Roy's tenure, playing just 13 games for the new bench boss and scoring two goals and five assists.
The 28-year-old, who bounced around the lineup this past season, has one year left on his contract worth $775,000.