New York Islanders: Head Coach Barry Trotz should win coach of the year

Head coach Barry Trotz has had in interesting year. Back in June, he won his first Stanley Cup as the head coach of the Washington Capitals. Then he wanted more money and the Capitals were not willing to agree. So he became a free agent among head coaches. He didn’t even last a couple of weeks until he found a new home within the same conference as the Capitals. On June 21st, he would end up being hired by the New York Islanders.

The expectations given to the Islanders were not good. Many of the experts predicted them to end up towards the bottom of the NHL. As of this writing, they have a 2-0 lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the Eastern Conference.

How did we get to this point?

Most of this team was apart of last year’s team. The only major piece that was missing was John Tarves bolting towards the Toronto Maple Leafs. People were curious to see who would fill that void. It seems like guys like Matt Barzel, Josh Bailey, and others came to the top. However, the biggest thing was that they bought into the Barry Trotz system and its paying off. The last time the Islanders had a lot of momentum was during there dynasty years. Also, during the dynasty years was the last time an Islander coach won the Jack Adams award. Al Albour won the award after the 1978-1979 season.

This team is still young enough that Barry Trotz could become one of the better coaches in Islanders history. This will happen as long the team keeps buying into his system. Let’s also not forget that the Islanders had the most wins in a season.

Game 3 will be on Sunday as the Islanders look to get a 3-0 lead. It takes place at noon on Sunday