Barry Trotz

Early years

Before becoming a coach, Trotz played for the WHL's Regina Pats from 1979 to 1982, winning the WHL Championship in 1980. Trotz during that time played in 191 games, scoring 15 Goals with 60 Assist and 324 PIM. Trotz played his final year of junior hockey in his home town of Dauphin, Manitoba, where the Kings won the MJHL title as well as the Anavet Cup.

Trotz said that he realized his playing was not good enough for a National Hockey League career, and started having doubt on his future. He wound up getting a spot attending training camp for the American Hockey League's Hershey Bears in 1982 thanks to Jack Button, director of player recruitment at the Bears' NHL parent, the Washington Capitals. Button declared to the young prospect that his invitation came because the executive believed Trotz "might be a good minor league leader or a coach someday." Trotz began his coaching career as an assistant coach at the University of Manitoba in 1984. The following season, he became the GM and head coach for the Dauphin Kings. In 1987, he returned to the University of Manitoba as head coach, while also serving as a part-time scout for the Capitals.

Trotz became the head coach for the Capitals' minor league affiliate, the Baltimore Skipjacks, in 1992. On March 26, 1993 the franchise moved to Portland, Maine and was renamed the Portland Pirates. Trotz led the Pirates to two Calder Cup Finals, winning the Calder Cup in the Pirates' inaugural season of 1994.

Nashville Predators

As former Capitals general manager David Poile was hired by the newly established expansion team Nashville Predators, he decided to bring Trotz along to become the team's coach. He was named the head coach of the Predators on August 6, 1997. Even before the team began play, Trotz was involved in the Predators expansion process, doing player scouting and helping design the team facilities at the Nashville Arena.

In the debut of both Trotz and the Predators at the 1998–99 NHL season, the team won 28 games, the third highest for an expansion team to date. He holds the record for most games coached by the first coach of an NHL expansion franchise, previously held by Terry Crisp for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Coincidentally, Crisp now works as a radio and TV broadcaster for the Predators. In a November 4, 2008 game vs. the Vancouver Canucks, Trotz became just the 10th head coach in NHL history to coach 750 games with a single team, and the 31st to reach that mark overall.

The 2006–07 season was Trotz's most successful season, leading the Predators to the second-most points in the Western Conference and third overall at 110. But unfortunately they trailed division rival Detroit, thus being denied the first division championship in club history. The Predators would fare no better in the playoffs, losing 4–1 to the San Jose Sharks in the opening round just as they did the year before. Trotz finished 4th in the Jack Adams voting at season's end, but was voted by his peers Sporting News NHL Coach of the Year. He is well respected around the league for keeping his team focused. He led the Predators to four consecutive playoff appearances from 2003 to 2008, and reached the postseason again in the 2009–10 NHL season. Shortly after being eliminated by the Chicago Blackhawks in six games, on April 28, 2010, Trotz was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award for NHL coach of the year alongside Joe Sacco of the Colorado Avalanche and Dave Tippett of the Phoenix Coyotes.

Trotz won his 500th game with a 4–1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on March 30, 2012.

On April 14, 2014, the Nashville Predators announced that Trotz would not return for his 16th season as head coach. (The Predators hired Peter Laviolette as Trotz's replacement on May 6, 2014.) His 1,196 regular season games coached puts him 14th on the all-time coaching list, and his tenure with the Predators was the longest unbroken coaching stretch in league history.

Washington Capitals

Despite the Predators inviting Trotz to work in their hockey operations department, he wanted to remain coaching. Eventually the Washington Capitals, the same team that gave Trotz his first opportunities in professional hockey, hired him on May 26, 2014.

On February 28, 2017, Barry Trotz recorded his 700th win with a 4–1 victory over the New York Rangers, and became the sixth NHL coach to reach 700 wins.

International

Trotz was assistant coach for Canada at the IIHF World Championships three times: 2002, 2003 (when they won the gold medal) and 2009.

Personal life

Trotz currently lives in Clarendon, Virginia, with his family: wife Kim and children Shalan, Tyson, Tiana and Nolan.

An active member of the community, Trotz won the Community Spirit Award in 2005 for various charitable works, including donating $500 to My Friends' House (a United Way agency) for each Nashville victory through several seasons; serving as an active board member for the Williamson County YMCA and the United Way; working closely with Best Buddies of Tennessee, a nonprofit organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Trotz was named to the Portland Pirates Hall of Fame in 2005, and to the University of Manitoba Hall of Fame in 2001.