Islanders say thank you to former coach Barry Trotz with video tribute
Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz, shown before game at Madison Square Garden in October, returned to UBS Arena on Saturday night as his new team faced the Islanders, the team he used to coach. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The video highlights rolled during the first-period stoppage, showing Barry Trotz’s best moments behind the bench in his four seasons as Islanders coach. They ended with “Thank You, Barry” as the UBS Arena crowd gave him a standing ovation and chanted his first name.
Trotz, in his first season as the Predators’ general manager and making his first return to Long Island since being fired by president/GM Lou Lamoriello in 2022, acknowledged the adulation by blowing a kiss and touching his heart.
“I had a great time here on the Island,” Trotz, who coached the Predators from 1998-2014, said of coming to UBS Arena as an opponent. “It’s good memories.”
“The way he’s respected in this locker room and this area,” Kyle Palmieri said, “it’s something that speaks volumes to the person he is.”
Trotz actually coached home games for the Islanders at Barclays Center and Nassau Coliseum before UBS Arena opened in his final season with the team.
“When I came here, Lou had a really strong vision that he wanted to get the Islander pride,” Trotz said. “A big part of that was where we were playing.
“We were sort of a little bit nomadic. I feel very fortunate that I got to experience all three venues.”
Trotz cited Anthony Beauvillier’s overtime goal to win Game 6 of the 2021 NHL semifinals, 3-2, over the Lightning on June 23, 2021, in what turned out to be the Coliseum finale, as one of his “best hockey memories.”
“He scored and the emotion that the whole community felt was terrific,” Trotz said. “I remember more the full beer cans coming down, trying to get off the ice.
“It was a beautiful day that day. Everybody was outside. Just like the old days. That’s what it reminded of, it was a game from the ’70s.''
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
