Islanders Fire Head Coach Barry Trotz in Puzzling Decision

The New York Islanders have fired their coach. President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello announced today that Barry Trotz has been relieved of his duties and the hockey world is quite shocked despite the fact the Islanders did not have the season they would have hoped for in 2021-22. After four seasons with the Isles, Trotz easily becomes one of the top names now available this summer in the NHL free agency coaching pool.

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#Isles News: New York Islanders President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello announced today that Barry Trotz has been relieved of his duties as Head Coach.

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) May 9, 2022

The news to let Trotz go is being seen as a puzzling decision by many sources who follow the Islanders closely. Some are wondering if there’s more going on behind the scenes than just a lousy record this year. Trotz is one of the better coaches in the league and his record with the team saw them reach the second round of the playoffs, and Conference Finals twice under his tenure,

He’s also a Stanley Cup winner, having reached the top of the mountain with the Washington Capitals just prior to taking the job with the Islanders. He then turned one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL into the best the following season. He won the Jack Adams award that season as coach of the year.

Needless to say, Trotz’s unemployment will last exactly as long as he wants it to and insiders are anxious to hear from Lamoriello and the reasoning behind making what many see as a mistake. So far, Lamoriello has been quoted as saying that Trotz going into the final year of his current contract did not play a factor in the decision. He added, “It would be a tremendous understatement to say that this wasn’t an easy decision to make.” Beyond that, he noted, “I would rather not get into any of the reasons.”

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