Trotz discusses Islanders skid, expanding playoffs after NHL pause in Q&A

Barry Trotz is fully aware his New York Islanders lost seven games in a row (0-3-4) before the NHL season was paused on March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

The skid has the Islanders (35-23-10) trailing the Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets by one point for the two wild cards into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
Still, Trotz, in his second season as New York coach, said he was confident the Islanders were about to get back on track, back to the level they were playing early in the season, when they set their record with a 17-game point streak (15-0-2) from Oct. 12-Nov. 23.
"I didn't have any doubts that we were going to make the playoffs," Trotz told NHL.com. "I really didn't. I was pretty confident. Even though we had [14] games left, I was confident we were going to get in because I knew our team was heading in the right direction.
"You can tell when it's not heading in the right direction, and you can tell when it is. As coaches you want it to head quicker obviously, but I knew it was heading in the right direction. You could see guys were all pulling on the same rope and you could see that our game was getting stronger. We weren't getting the results quite yet, but our game was coming together. I was actually excited for that last stretch. I didn't care if we [finished] eighth or fifth, it didn't bother me. I felt comfortable wherever we had to play, we would be a tough out."
Where the Islanders will finish obviously remains to be seen. With the season paused, Trotz is quarantined at his Long Island home with his wife, Kim, and sons Tyson and Nolan. Tyson lives in Canada but has been in New York since December hanging out with his younger brother, who has special needs.
"I've been pretty busy actually," Trotz said. "I'm doing little projects. I either pick out a hockey project or a house project. My wife usually gives me a project. … I like going to work because I can be the boss for once.
"The great thing about the Island is you've got room. You can go for a bike ride. We're 20 minutes to a beach, and you can get on the beach and go for a long walk. From that standpoint, we've got a pretty good routine going. … I haven't been sick; no one in the family has. So far, so good."
The Islanders coach discussed the extended time at home, communicating with his players, an admiration for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and more with NHL.com.
If the season resumes, what would you like to see happen? There's obviously talk of playing in July and August, and perhaps resuming with the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Technically, the Islanders are out, but point percentage would have you in a playoff spot. If you were NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, what would you do?
"I can't speak for Gary, but I think the proper thing, if we have the time, I think you just expand the playoffs a little bit. Percentage-wise is the best way; you're not going to get every team back to 72 games or whatever because it would make no sense. Who do you play? Why? I think you've got to expand it because there is bubble teams. If there's time prevailing, I would probably expand it a little more; probably 12 teams (in each conference) and try to figure it out from there. If they don't have time, then you've got to make it eight and you've got to go by points percentage. That would be the most fair way to do it.
"That's way above my pay grade, but I do know this: As coaches and players, we all want to play and we're all prepared to play. We'll do what's necessary when we're able to do it. I think sports is part of the healing process for society. At some point when we get this under control, part of the healing process is going to be all sports. That gives you a sense of being back to normal a little bit more."
How excited would be to have a healthy roster that could potentially include defenseman Adam Pelech, who wasn't supposed to be in the equation?
"I always thought that if we got healthy, got guys like [forward Casey Cizikas] back and [Pelech] back, and you add [forward Jean-Gabriel] Pageau and [defenseman Andy] Greene, we're set up to be a pretty hard team if we can get back to what we do really well. Our 'identity line,' the Cizikas line (with Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck), they really didn't play together at all this year; one of them was always hurt. It did affect [our] team, and I think we tried to overcoach a little bit. Sometimes when you're trying to get better, you get further from your identity. I thought we did a little bit of that. That's on me and maybe my staff a little bit. As coaches, you're always trying to find the next thing, how to get better. That's a great quality to have, but also sometimes we overdid it in some areas. I thought we got away from some of the areas that make us really difficult, but I thought we were starting to get back to them, which was a great thing. We were struggling, and it actually forced us to get back to some of the things that we're really good at.
"… The addition of Pageau, our group is pretty four-deep at center ice, which is critical to have success in this league. If we finish the season up, having those four lines versus teams that rely on five guys, two lines up front and the other lines barely play, then I think if you went from 0 to 60 right away, they might be good for one series, but the long distance won't work for them."

How is this quarantine going for Nolan in particular?
"It's been good. I have to give a lot of credit to my wife because she's got the patience for the schooling thing. You really see a different appreciation. We see it with the first responders but also the teachers. They're being very creative. Nolan's teacher went around [last Thursday] on her bike and phoned all the kids and said she was going to come by. She stopped at everybody's house and talked to the parents and took a distant selfie. They've been really great. In Nolan's case, it's been good. His older brother came down from Canada at Christmastime and he had some spare time, so we just told him to stay. He's really enjoyed that time. Nolan's 19, but if you met him, you'd think he's like 7. He's enjoying the teenage time with his brother. It's been good."
Are you in touch regularly with everyone from the team?
"Oh yeah. I'm staying connected with my coaching staff and trainers and people like that. We've got a group chat going; everybody's getting the funny videos and what's up on TV, guys telling me to check something out."
Have you watched "Tiger King" yet?
"No, but it's on my list. Even when I eat, I'll eat my salad first and sort of work around the plate. I don't go bouncing around when it comes to a [TV] series. Right now, I'm working my way through 'The Man in the High Castle.' You've got to stay with it and pay attention; it's not one of those where you can walk out of the room and come back five minutes later and know what's going on. There's two dimensions to it with two stories going on at the same time with the same people. It jumps back and forth a little bit, so you've got to pay attention. If I start falling asleep, I have to put it on hold and watch it later. I've checked out one episode of 'Hunters,' so that'll be next on the list."
You have been complimentary of the job New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, is doing during this pandemic. As a coach, can you learn anything from how he's carried himself and apply it to what you do?
"Absolutely. He's been straightforward, he's had a plan, he doesn't try to fake anything. I think he's up front. You want your leader to be organized. When he doesn't have the answer, he says, 'I don't have the answer right now.' You don't try to fake it. I think he's come across as very genuine. I think he's what we talk about what we want our leaders in tough times to be. I think he exhibits all of that. I watch him and I think about things that happened during games or a playoff series or how you react after a loss, and then the media can ask you a question that grates you the wrong way, and you just can't get back focused. As a coach, you sign up for that, but I love the way he just handles everything with a calmness and purpose and honesty. I'm sitting here in New York, and I want that in our leaders. If you're the leader of a hockey team, you want to see if you can pull some of that off. At the right times, you want to handle situations correctly. I just think he's done a fantastic job in probably the toughest situation in the world right now, really. He's handling it as a true leader."
Three of your players (Anders Lee, Jordan Eberle and Josh Bailey) grew their families in March. If there's any positive in what's going on, would it be that they get to spend extended time with their newborn daughters when they normally wouldn't have the chance?
"Yeah, I've reached out to them. Even (Washington Capitals center) Nicklas Backstrom had a child the other day, so I reached out. I tell them to enjoy this, because in our business, you're gone weeks at a time, and when you are home, you're just trying to get back to normal, and then you're gone again. You try to take advantage of it a little bit from that standpoint. Jordan Eberle left us in Calgary (on March 11), and then he was going to try and get back for our game in Pittsburgh (on March 15). You think about that, it's not good. You need your family and the support. It's worked out in those situations very well."