Barry Trotz’s Islanders face all kinds of adversity this past season, battling COVID-19 outbreaks, injuries, and a grueling road trip while their new home was finishing construction.
It wasn’t enough to overcome, and now, after missing the playoffs, Barry Trotz is out as head coach.
It was a move that surprised many, and one that general manager Lou Lamoriello stood by when speaking with reporters shortly after the move was announced on Monday.
But while Lamoriello stood by his decision, he declined to go into exactly why he came to it.
“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,” Lamoriello said, via NHL.com. “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 types of decisions. This is certainly a business decision as far as hockey and winning.”
Lamoriello acknowledged that this season’s disappointment of missing the playoffs for the first time under Trotz’s watch factored into the decision, and that it was a decision he made alone, not consulting with players first.
“Those are not questions that I will answer as far as what I thought,” Lamoriello said. It's obvious that I thought quite a bit to make this type of a decision. It will be a tremendous understatement to say that this was not an easy decision to make. 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.”
Trotz led the Islanders to consecutive Eastern Conference Final appearances before this season, coming one win from a Stanley Cup berth last year. But with most of the core from that group returning, the Islanders came well short of their goals this season, and as a result, Trotz is out. He was under contract next season, as are much of his assistants, but Lamoriello said those decisions will be made with the help of their new head coach, which he put no timetable on making a choice as to who will take over. But the shock of Trotz’s exit is still reverberating on Long Island, even with this season’s disappointment.
“Certainly, I think the record over these past four years speaks for itself as far as what Barry has done and we are very much appreciative of that,” Lamoriello said. “I certainly am, personally and professionally. As I said, these types of decisions are made for going forward, and I think that with this group we have, and they are on notice right now, that the new voice is what's necessary for us to have success in my opinion.”
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