The Detroit Red Wings are still searching for a head coach after deciding to not re-sign Jeff Blashill this offseason. General manager, Steve Yzerman has kept his search for a head coach out of the headlines, but he has shown interest in bringing in former New York Islanders head coach, Barry Trotz.
Trotz has reportedly had interviews with the Vegas Golden Knights, Detroit Red Wings, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Winnipeg Jets over the past couple weeks. The Knights filled their coaching position with former Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy. The Flyers, on the other hand, just signed former Columbus Blue Jackets head coach, John Tortorella.
With the Red Wings and the Jets being the two teams that have really pursued Trotz now no longer having a coaching vacancy, it leaves the Red Wings and Jets as Trotz’s two main options.
Trotz’s resume speaks for itself. He made the playoffs all four years of his Washington Capitals tenure finishing first in the Metropolitan Division in three of the four years and capping it off by winning the Stanley Cup in 2018. In his four years with the Islanders, he made the playoffs three times and lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champions twice.
The former Stanley Cup-winning head coach is scheduled to have another interview with the Jets this week, while news of an interview with the Red Wings has yet to come out. While they have not officially approached him, it seems as though Trotz is in control of his destiny when it comes to where he wants to coach next season.
In this piece, I’ll dive into the strengths and weaknesses of each team, and what Trotz is looking at when making his next coaching decision.