Reports suggest that Trotz may have been fired due to a rift with star forward
The hockey world was stunned on Monday when New York Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello announced that he had relieved Isles head coach Barry Trotz of his coaching duties. The plot thickened shortly after when it was suggested that the working relationship between Trotz and Lamoriello was not very cohesive.
Late Monday afternoon during The Jeff Marek Show, it was announced that Nick Kypreos was reporting a rift between Trotz and his star forward Mat Barzal. This report was later confirmed by The Fourth Period's Isles correspondent, James Nichols.
Nichols also reported that, back in February, rumours of a fallout between the Barzal and his coach led to a conversation where if the Isles were forced to choose between Barzal and Trotz, the club would choose Barzal.
Trotz won a Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018, but was not re-upped by the club in quite possibly the most shocking story of that summer. The veteran coach signed on with the Isles and immediately turned the worst defensive team in the league into one of the best, sending the Isles back to the postseason, but losing in the second round. He would coach the team for 3 more seasons, propelling his team to the Eastern Conference Finals in back-to-back seasons before missing the playoffs this year.
| POLL | ||
10 MAI | 400 ANSWERS Reports suggest that Trotz may have been fired due to a rift with star forward If the Leafs lose in round one again, should the Leafs consider bringing in Barry Trotz to replace Sheldon Keefe? | ||
| No, Keefe is a solid coach | 246 | 61.5 % |
| Yes, but I doubt they could get him | 103 | 25.8 % |
| Back up the Brinks truck and pay him | 51 | 12.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
