He could have coasted in his first year as Isles coach. Instead, what Trotz has done in reviving the Islanders is just as impressive as winning the title, maybe more so.
Any good coach seems to know what it is going happen before it does. So it was with Barry Trotz, who told the Washington Capitals back in late November that they have a shot to win another Stanley Cup, but warned them, “You’ll have to go through the [expletive] Island.”
Score a big one for his reputation as a clairvoyant because if the Capitals get past the Hurricanes and proceed in the Stanley Cup playoffs, they will in fact have to get past the Islanders next (albeit in Brooklyn, but you get the drift).