New York Islanders Fire Head Coach Barry Trotz

Islanders fire head coach Barry Trotz originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

The New York Islanders have fired head coach Barry Trotz, the team announced on Monday morning.

“It would be a tremendous understatement to say this was not an easy decision,” team president and general manager Lou Lamoriello said on a conference call, via the Associated Press. “Unfortunately it is my role to make the best decisions for the organization. … I believe this group of players needs a new voice.”

Lamoriello declined to expand on why he believed the team needed a new voice. Although he did say that players were not consulted about the move.

Trotz’s firing comes after New York missed the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 37-35-10 regular-season record. It was the Islanders’ first time without a postseason appearance since 2017-18.

Trotz, 59, joined the Islanders right after coaching the Washington Capitals to a Stanley Cup championship in 2017-18. The Isles went 115-67-24 in their first three seasons under Trotz, making the playoffs each year.

After falling in the second round of the 2019 playoffs, Trotz’s Isles made it all the way to the Eastern Conference final in each of the next two seasons. But New York failed to reach its first Stanley Cup Final since 1983-84 as the Islanders lost to the eventual-champion Tampa Bay Lightning both times.

Trotz sits third on the NHL’s all-time wins list with 914, trailing Joel Quenneville (969) and Scotty Bowman (1,244).