There we were trudging into another Monday in the NHL playoffs without the Islanders participating when Lou Lamoriello dropped one of his bombs: Hall of Fame-bound coach Barry Trotz, who turned the team around and gave them identity and structure, was “relieved of his duties” as head coach.
We hadn’t heard much from Lamoriello since the end of the season, which could have been a clue, but that’s nothing new: Lamoriello never thinks we deserve to hear much. (That applies to his rationale for this change, too, but more on that later.)
Then again, maybe that’s why as a fanbase we shouldn’t have allowed ourselves to blindsided by this: Lamoriello’s history as an NHL GM is filled with firing coaches, often at surprising times.