Barry Trotz and Lou Lamoriello’s Legacy With The New York Islanders

Barry Trotz has been voted off the island, and that island is Long Island. The two-time Jack Adams award winner with the New York Islanders was fired in a surprising move. It was Trotz who had been credited with much of the organization’s success since the 2018-2019 NHL season in the wake of the departure of John Tavares.

Trotz’s tenure was arguably the most successful since the Islanders dynasty years. Ever since their four cups and five final appearances, the franchise has been marred with inconsistency. Whatever spotlight they had during their golden years has since been retaken by their rival New York Rangers, and to a lesser extent the New Jersey Devils mini-dynasty of the 1990’s-early 2000s.

Barry Trotz was shockingly let go as the New York Islanders’ head coach. General manager Lou Lamoriello has his work cut out for him with an aging roster and a coaching search.

No matter how successful his Islanders team was, it was almost as if they were playing on borrowed time. Their roster is constructed with aging veterans on contracts that won’t age well. Trotz’s defense first and offense by committee structure fit the team well, but how long was it meant to last?

Everything about how this roster was constructed seemed to show the success would be short-lived and unsustainable.

This season seemed to be when the Islanders’ luck ran out. We’ll give the Islanders credit though. They finished strong and were the highest Eastern Conference team not to make the playoffs while finishing with a respectable 37-35-10 record.

General manager Lou Lamoriello took full responsibility for Trot’z firing, saying he felt the “players needed a new voice”. Up until this point, Lamoriello and Trotz were married in the Islanders’ recent success.

Lamoriello has made questionable coaching changes before in terms of timing. Remember he fired Robbie Ftorek as coach of the New Jersey Devils just before the 2000 Stanley Cup playoffs. That move was called “pure panic”, but Lamoriello was vindicated in this decision when the Devils won their second Stanley Cup championship that spring.

That Devils team also featured Martin Brodeur and Scott Stevens in their prime, along with a rookie Scott Gomez. This Islanders team features Zach Parise, Kyle Palmieri and Anders Lee, who are all on the wrong side of 30 years old.

By separating himself through firing, Lamoriello is ensuring that any roster problems or continued team struggles that arise will be placed on his shoulders. Meanwhile, Trotz rides off into the Islander sunset with renewed success to add to his resume.

One of the few Islanders success stories of the past season was the debut of Ilya Sorokin. Despite the Islanders’ struggles, Sorokin finished with an impressive .925 save percentage and 2.30 goals against average in his first NHL season.

Internet rumblings say wherever Trotz goes he might take goaltending coach Mitch Korn with him. Who knows what that would do for Sorokin’s development.

When Trotz returns to UBS Arena next season, which he will because his services won’t be on the open market for long, Islanders fans will rightfully give him a standing ovation. Lamoriello is left fixing a roster that isn’t getting any younger as time goes on. Now, Lamoriello also has to add “hiring a new coach” to what should be a lengthy to-do list this offseason.