Trotz fired as coach of Islanders

Barry Trotz was fired as coach of the New York Islanders on Monday.

The Islanders (37-35-10) missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2018, finishing 16 points behind the Washington Capitals for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference. It was the first time in Trotz’s four seasons the Islanders missed the postseason. They had reached the third round of the playoffs the previous two seasons, including a Game 7 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning last season.

In four seasons with the Islanders, Trotz was 152-102-34, and 28-21 in the playoffs. In 23 NHL seasons with the Islanders, Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators, Trotz is 914-670-168 (60 ties). His 1,812 regular-season games are second all-time after Scotty Bowman (2,141), and he’s third in wins behind Bowman (1,244) and Joel Quenneville (969).

“It will be a tremendous understatement to say that this was not an easy decision to make,” Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello said. “Unfortunately it is my role to make the best decisions for the organization going forward and I believe that this group of players needs a new voice and this in no way is anything negative on Barry Trotz, who as each and every one of you knows is a tremendous human being.”

Injuries and COVID-19 contributed to the unraveling of the Islanders this season, beginning when defenseman Ryan Pulock sustained a lower-body injury during a 4-1 loss at Tampa Bay on Nov. 15. The initial timeline for Pulock’s recovery was 4-6 weeks, but he did not play another game until Feb. 1. Forward Josh Bailey tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 16 and six more players — forwards Anders Lee, Casey Cizikas and Ross Johnston, and defensemen Adam Pelech, Zdeno Chara and Andy Greene — were in COVID-19 protocol by Nov. 27. The Islanders finished the season without forward Cal Clutterbuck (shoulder surgery) and defenseman Scott Mayfield (lower body).

New York played the first 13 games of the season on the road (5-6-2) because the COVID-19 pandemic slowed construction of UBS Arena, and they lost 11 in a row from Nov. 7-Dec. 5 (0-8-3). Forward Brock Nelson (37) and Lee (28) were the only Islanders skaters to score at least 20 goals.

“Any type of a decision like this doesn’t happen overnight,” Lamoriello said. “It’s over a period of time and certainly all the extenuating circumstances that transpired this year, uncontrollable by everyone or anyone, is taken into consideration. But I’d rather not get into any of the reasons because that’s my job, the information that I have and I experienced, to make these type of decisions.”

Trotz is the third coach to be fired since the regular season ended following Jeff Blashill by the Detroit Red Wings (April 30) and Mike Yeo by the Philadelphia Flyers (May 3). The Winnipeg Jets announced May 2 they would have a coaching search and Dave Lowry, who replaced Paul Maurice as coach Dec. 17, could be interviewed for the job. The Chicago Blackhawks also are undergoing a coaching search that includes Derek King, who replaced Jeremy Colliton as coach Nov. 6.