Veteran coach is out as Islanders fire Trotz
Barry Trotz was fired as coach of the New York Islanders on Monday, with general manager Lou Lamoriello saying he thought the team needed a new voice.
Trotz lost his job after four seasons with the Islanders and the first without a playoff appearance. Trotz, 59, ranks among the most successful coaches in NHL history and won the Stanley Cup with Washington in 2018 when the Capitals defeated the Golden Knights in five games. He guided the Islanders to the Eastern Conference final each of the previous two years before losing to eventual champion Tampa Bay.
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. “Those are not questions that I will answer as far as what I thought. It’s obviously that I thought quite a bit to make this type of a decision.”
A series of events outside Trotz’s control contributed to the Islanders missing the playoffs. While their new arena was being finished, they opened the season on a 13game trip and were hit with a string of coronavirus-related absences and injuries.
Lamoriello said the choice to move on from Trotz was not made primarily about what happened this season. He said, “This is certainly a business decision as far as hockey and winning.”
Trotz could immediately become a candidate for vacancies in Philadelphia, Detroit and Winnipeg, plus others that open up because of his availability.
Trotz coached the Nashville Predators for their first 15 seasons, helping them reach the playoff seven times. His 914 regular-season wins rank third among coaches in NHL history.