Barry Trotz

Lore & Background

Trotz played as a defenceman for the Western Hockey League (WHL)'s Regina Pats from 1979 to 1982, winning the WHL Championship in 1980. He played his final year of junior hockey in Dauphin, Manitoba, where the Kings won the Manitoba Junior Hockey League title and the Anavet Cup. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at the University of Manitoba in 1984. The following season, he became the general manager and head coach for the Dauphin Kings. In 1987, he returned to the University of Manitoba as head coach, while also serving as a part-time scout for the Washington Capitals. Trotz became head coach for the Capitals' minor league affiliate, the Baltimore Skipjacks, in 1992. On March 26, 1993, the franchise moved to Portland, Maine, and was renamed the Portland Pirates. Trotz led the Pirates to two Calder Cup finals, winning the Calder Cup in 1994. That same year, he won the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award. He was named head coach of the Nashville Predators on August 6, 1997. Trotz's 1,196 regular season games coached with the Predators was the longest unbroken coaching stretch in league history. He earned his 500th win with a 4–1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on March 30, 2012. On April 14, 2014, the Predators announced Trotz would not return for his 16th season as head coach. On May 26, 2014, Trotz was announced as the new head coach of the Capitals. On June 7, 2018, Trotz won his first Stanley Cup as head coach, with the Capitals defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in five games. On June 21, 2018, Trotz was announced as the new head coach of the Islanders. The Islanders let him go at the end of the 2021–22 season.

Did You Know?

• Trotz won the AHL's Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award in 1994.
• He became the longest-tenured head coach in the NHL on February 20, 2013, after Lindy Ruff was fired.
• Trotz won the Jack Adams Award for a second time on June 19, 2019.