Barry Trotz (born July 15, 1962) is a Canadian ice hockey executive, former player and coach. He is the general manager for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Prior to that he served as an advisor to General Manager David Poile. He is the former head coach of the Nashville Predators, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders. Trotz is known for his defensive-minded coaching style and is currently ranked third all-time in NHL coaching wins, behind only Scotty Bowman and Joel Quenneville. He is often referred to by fans and players as "Trotzy".
He was previously the coach of the American Hockey League (AHL)'s Baltimore Skipjacks and Portland Pirates, with whom he won an AHL championship in 1994. That same year, he won the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award, which is awarded to the outstanding coach in the AHL as voted upon by the AHL Broadcasters and Writers. On February 20, 2013, Lindy Ruff was fired by the Buffalo Sabres, making Trotz the longest-tenured head coach in the NHL. He was also the second-longest tenured coach in the four major North American professional leagues, behind only Gregg Popovich of the National Basketball Association's San Antonio Spurs. On April 14, 2014, the Predators announced Trotz would not return for his 16th season as head coach. On May 26, 2014, Trotz was announced as the new head coach of the Capitals. On June 7, 2018, Trotz won his first Stanley Cup as the head coach, with the Capitals defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in five games, for the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship. On June 21, 2018, Trotz was announced as the new head coach of the Islanders. The Islanders let him go at the end of the 2021–22 season, when the team missed the playoffs.
Coaching career
Early years
Before becoming a coach, Trotz played as a defenceman for the Western Hockey League (WHL)'s Regina Pats from 1979 to 1982, winning the WHL Championship in 1980.[1] During that time, Trotz played in 191 games, scoring 15 goals, adding 60 assists and accumulating 324 penalty minutes.[2] Trotz played his final year of junior hockey in his home town of Dauphin, Manitoba, where the Kings won the Manitoba Junior Hockey League title as well as the Anavet Cup.[3]
Trotz said he realized his playing was not good enough for an NHL career,[4] and started having doubts about his future. He wound up getting a spot attending training camp for the American Hockey League (AHL)'s Hershey Bears in 1982 thanks to Jack Button, director of player recruitment at the Bears' NHL parent club, the Washington Capitals. Button said to Trotz he was invited because Button believed Trotz "might be a good minor league leader or a coach someday".[5] Trotz began his coaching career as an assistant coach at the University of Manitoba in 1984. The following season, he became the general manager and head coach for the Dauphin Kings. In 1987, he returned to the University of Manitoba as head coach, while also serving as a part-time scout for the Washington Capitals.[1]
Trotz became the head coach for the Capitals' minor league affiliate, the Baltimore Skipjacks, in 1992. On March 26, 1993, the franchise moved to Portland, Maine, and was renamed the Portland Pirates.[6] Trotz led the Pirates to two Calder Cup Finals, winning the Calder Cup in the Pirates' inaugural season of 1994.[7]
When longtime Capitals general manager David Poile was hired by the newly established Nashville Predators, he decided to bring Trotz along to become the team's first head coach.[5][8] He was named the head coach of the Predators on August 6, 1997.[9] Even before the team began play, Trotz was involved in the Predators expansion process, doing player scouting and helping design the team facilities at the Nashville Arena.[4]
In the debut of both Trotz and the Predators at the 1998–99 NHL season, the team won 28 games, the third highest for an expansion team to date.[1] He holds the record for most games coached by the first coach of an NHL expansion franchise, previously held by Terry Crisp for the Tampa Bay Lightning.[1] Coincidentally, Crisp now works as a radio and TV broadcaster for the Predators.[10] In a November 4, 2008, game against the Vancouver Canucks, Trotz became just the tenth head coach in NHL history to coach 750 games with a single team, and the 31st to reach that mark overall.
The 2006–07 season was Trotz's most successful season, leading the Predators to the second-most points in the Western Conference and third overall at 110.[1] However, they trailed their division rival the Detroit Red Wings, therefore denying them the first division championship in club history. The Predators would fare no better in the playoffs, losing 4–1 to the San Jose Sharks in the opening round just as they did the year before.[11] Trotz finished fourth in the Jack Adams Award voting at season's end, but was voted by his peers Sporting News NHL Coach of the Year. He is well respected around the NHL for keeping his team focused.[12] He led the Predators to four consecutive playoff appearances from 2003 to 2008, and reached the playoffs again in 2009–10. Shortly after being eliminated by the Chicago Blackhawks in six games, on April 28, 2010, Trotz was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award for NHL coach of the year alongside Joe Sacco of the Colorado Avalanche and Dave Tippett of the Phoenix Coyotes.
Trotz earned his 500th win with a 4–1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on March 30, 2012.[13]
On April 14, 2014, the Predators announced Trotz would not return for his 16th season as head coach.[8] The Predators hired Peter Laviolette as Trotz's replacement on May 6, 2014.[14] Trotz's 1,196 regular season games coached puts him 14th on the all-time coaching list, and his tenure with the Predators was the longest unbroken coaching stretch in league history.[citation needed]
Washington Capitals (2014–2018)
Despite the Predators inviting Trotz to work in their hockey operations department, he wanted to keep coaching. Eventually the Washington Capitals, the same team that gave Trotz his first opportunities in professional hockey, hired him on May 26, 2014.[15]
On February 28, 2017, Trotz recorded his 700th win with a 4–1 victory over the New York Rangers, and became the sixth NHL coach to reach 700 wins.[16]
On June 7, 2018, Trotz and the Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in the Stanley Cup Finals, and won his first Stanley Cup for the first time as head coach after 19 seasons, the longest such wait in NHL history. On June 18, 2018, Trotz resigned from the Capitals as their head coach due to a contract dispute.[17][18]
On August 20, 2020, the Islanders defeated Trotz's former team, the Washington Capitals, who he previously coached to a Stanley Cup championship in 2018, 4–1 in the first round of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.
After a win over the New York Rangers on February 8, 2021, Trotz earned his 850th career win as NHL head coach and passed Ken Hitchcock for third place on the all-time coach wins list.[23][24]
On May 9, 2022, Trotz was relieved from his duties as the Islanders head coach as the Islanders missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018.[25]
An active member of the Nashville community, Trotz won the Community Spirit Award in 2005 for various charitable works, including donating $500 to My Friends' House (a United Way agency) for each Nashville victory through several seasons; serving as an active board member for the Williamson County YMCA and the United Way; working closely with Best Buddies of Tennessee, a nonprofit organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.[1]
Trotz was named to the Portland Pirates Hall of Fame in 2005,[7] and to the University of Manitoba Hall of Fame in 2001.[1]
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