Islanders fire Trotz after 4 seasons
Barry Trotz was fired as coach of the New York Islanders on Monday, with general manager Lou Lamoriello saying he felt the team needed a new voice.
Trotz lost his job after four seasons with the Islanders and the first without a playoff appearance. The 59-year-old, who ranks among the most successful coaches in NHL history and won the Stanley Cup with the Capitals in 2018, guided the Islanders to the Eastern Conference final each of the previous two years before losing to the eventual champion Lightning.
Lamoriello declined to explain why he thought “a new voice” was necessary.
“I’d rather not get into any of the reasons because that’s my job upon the information that I have and I experienced to make these type of decisions,” the 79-year-old longtime hockey executive said on a conference call.
A series of events outside Trotz’s control contributed to the Islanders missing the playoffs this year. While their new arena was being finished, they opened the season on a 13-game road trip and were hit with a string of coronavirus-related absences and injuries that derailed their season.
Trotz had one year left on his contract, which would have put him in the same situation as he was with the Caps. They decided in 2018 not to rework his contract despite the Cup and granted him his release.
Days later, he joined the Islanders, who had just put Lamoriello in charge of a franchise that hadn’t won a championship since its early 1980s dynasty. The Islanders went 152-102-34 in the regular season and 28-21 in the playoffs under Trotz, the organization’s most success in more than two decades.
Basketball: Suns coach Monty Williams , a Fredericksburg native, won NBA Coach of the Year honors, according to reports. An announcement hadn’t been made when this edition went to print. Under Williams, 50, the Suns finished with a league-best 64-18 regular-season record and earned the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs . ... Former Michigan State standout and NBA player Adreian Payne died in a shooting in Florida. He was 31. Lawrence Dority, 29, was arrested on a first-degree murder warrant after homicide detectives interviewed him. Payne played in 107 NBA games, averaging four points and three rebounds over four seasons with three teams. Payne started 94 of 138 games over four seasons at Michigan State. He averaged 16.4 points and 7.3 rebounds as a senior in the 2013-14 season.
NFL: The Giants released CB James Bradberry to save about $10.1 million against the salary cap this season. New GM Joe Schoen was seeking to trade Bradberry, 28, but couldn’t find anything that worked for all parties involved.
Soccer: Defender Miles Robinson will likely miss the World Cup for the U.S. after rupturing his left Achilles tendon while playing for Atlanta United in an MLS game.
Also: The Mississippi Department of Human Services is suing Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre, three former pro wrestlers and other people and businesses to try to recover millions of misspent welfare dollars that were intended to help some of the nation’s poorest people. The suit said the defendants “squandered” more than $20 million from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families anti-poverty program.