Trotz Interviewing in Winnipeg, Close to Home

The New York Islanders parted ways with their head coach Barry Trotz on Monday, May 9. A week later, Lane Lambert was promoted.

Lane Lambert Hired, Lamoriello Defines ‘New Voice’ & More

And on Tuesday, Sportsnet’s insider Elliotte Friedman heard that Barry Trotz was interviewing for the Winnipeg Jets job.

Hearing Winnipeg is interviewing Barry Trotz for its coaching position today.

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) May 17, 2022

Barry Trotz, 59, reigns from Manitoba and it is no surprise that he is being offered an opportunity for their head coaching position.

His hometown of Dauphin is about a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Winnipeg. But again, same province and still close to home.

Back in early January, Trotz lost his mother Iris and he took some personal time away from the team. You could tell, expectedly so, how much of a toll it took on him mentally.

During the final week of the season, Trotz indicated that he had a busy offseason ahead, as he had personal things to deal with.

Trotz’s wife and son live in Arlington, Virginia, but his father is still in Manitoba.

Being closer to home clearly seems to be of the utmost importance. And with the Islanders’ decision to hire Lambert, Trotz’s protégée, it makes more and more sense that Trotz and his desires played a vital part.

For Winnipeg, their head coach Paul Maurice stepped down as head coach back in December as he believed his team needed a new voice.

Dave Lowry became the interim head coach, and Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said that he could interview.

Now there other openings for Trotz. The Vegas Golden Knights fired Pete DeBoer, a dynamic team that missed the playoffs for the first time since joining the league back in 2017. The Philadelphia Flyers did not bring interim coach Mike Yeo back after the dysfunctional season they had, and Trotz seems to be at the top of their list. 

Even prior to the Islanders decision to fire Trotz, there was talk amongst a few colleagues that Trotz ending up at Winnipeg and finishing his coaching career there seemed like something that would surely happen.

We shall see how the interview process goes.