Trotz, the only coach in Predators franchise history, led the team to the playoffs for the first time last season.

Patience, trust key to Trotz's longevity
By John McGourty | NHL.com
Sept. 29, 2004

Nashville Predators coach Barry Trotz holds the NHL record for most games coached by an expansion team's first bench boss. Talk about hired to get fired, these guys are an endangered species -- not just in the NHL, all pro sports.

Obviously, Trotz has a couple things going for him. His general manager, David Poile, one of the most thoughtful and patient men in professional sports, planned for the organization to have a long-term coach right from the git-go and selected Trotz after a lengthy analysis of his personality, job skills and variety of experiences, which included playing, coaching, scouting and a stint as a team executive in junior hockey.

Trotz was a pretty good, albeit undersized, defensemen for the Regina Pats when they competed in the 1980 Memorial Cup. He was a year older than teammates Al MacInnis and Garth Butcher and they finished third to coach Doug Carpenter's Cornwall Royals with Hockey Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk and Vancouver Canucks coach Marc Crawford, and coach Mike Keenan's Peterborough Petes with Larry Murphy, Mark Reeds, Jim Wiemer, David Fenyves and Tom Fergus. Trotz's Regina team also included the late Doug Wickenheiser, Ron Flockhart and Darren Veitch.

"I was 5-foot-6 and 145 pounds. Now, I'm 5-foot-6 and 245 pounds," Trotz cracked. "I played in one game and was minus-2 and my coach, Bryan Murray, had enough of that. Dale Hawerchuk was great. He had a great feel for the game, like Wayne Gretzky. Seemed like he made something happen every time he touched the puck. He found people open. Cornwall had a small defenseman, Dave Ezard, who was just outstanding in that tournament and Reeds was dangerous throughout the tournament."

Trotz played a couple more years, but when Regina tried to trade him to Brandon, he balked.

Trotz played a year at the University of Manitoba, then was the assistant coach there. He coached the Dauphin Kings for two years and returned to the U of M as head coach. While there, he scouted for a Western Hockey League team, caught the attention of the Washington Capitals' scouting staff and quickly rose to head Western scout. He spent seven seasons coaching Washington's AHL teams, then was hired as head coach of the Predators a year before they began play.

What happened to your playing career?

"Regina was a good team in those days, Brandon wasn't and I tried to go to Kamloops, but Regina wouldn't do that for me," Trotz recalled. "So, I went home to Dauphin, Manitoba, and played Tier 2 and won a national championship. I knew I wasn't going to the NHL -- I wasn't very big and not that talented, so there's two strikes, oh, and I'm not good looking, three strikes -- so I listened when Wayne Fleming (now a Flyers' assistant coach) recruited me to the University of Manitoba. I had injured my back already, but I played one year, in a lot of pain, and went to Wayne and said I was done. He offered me an unpaid position as his assistant. He's very knowledgeable. That first year, I watched and observed and learned a lot from Wayne. The Canadian college coaches don't get enough credit, in my opinion.

Then you coached Tier 2 Junior hockey?

"In the back of my mind, I knew that coaching was what I would end up doing. I became the general manager and coach at Dauphin, Manitoba, my hometown. They were looking for someone cheap and I tried to get them back on their feet. It's pretty amazing, Dauphin isn't a big town, about 8,500, but it's produced three NHL coaches in Ron Low, Butch Goring and me."

What did you do in that year before the Predators began play?

"That was great for me. I primarily scouted the NHL and AHL. I did see a number of junior programs, the CHL All-Star Game, and I went up to see Vinny LeCavalier in juniors. I saw all the high picks that year and went all over the place. I went to Europe for the Four Nations tournament and the world championship. Six out of seven days, I was traveling. I was involved in so much planning, including the design of the dressing rooms.

"I was involved in the planning for the NHL Expansion Draft and the NHL Entry Draft. It was the most work I've ever done in a year, but I was involved in the whole process and it was a great experience. It went by so quickly and it was fun building something and seeing the finished product. When I got here I had a vision of an NHL coach's cushy office. First day, David Poile pulled us into a big meeting room with a table, a couple chairs and a telephone wire dangling from the ceiling and said, 'This is all we have, we're starting from scratch.' It seemed like we added a new person to the staff every day that year."

How did the established teams treat you while you were studying the NHL?

"I went around and met most of the executives of the other teams and talked with their coaches, while trying to find out about every player in the League. I hadn't been in the NHL, except scouting, so I became friends with everyone, I wasn't seen as a threat. One of the most important things I learned about was the strain on the coaches. I saw Ron Low one night after a loss to St. Louis and he was really down. I wondered if it would affect me like that. I look like I'm uncomfortable anyway, with the bad back.

"It was valuable just to see the insides of the different organizations and how they operated. I had a chance to be close, but still see it from an outsider's perspective. I joke that I met most of my first-year players in the press box (healthy scratches). Most teams would sit us next to the scratches of the visiting team. That's where I met Denny Lambert, who became one of the first guys to play for us. Same thing with Stan Neckar, who played a bit for us last year. One day, I went to gym for short workout and Denny and some of his teammates were there. They knew who I was so it was 'Hi, how's things going?' and they introduced themselves. It seemed like all the guys that were available in the expansion draft were in press boxes that season. Denny asked if I made the decision to pick him when we were in the weight room or when he was on the ice. I asked when was he on the ice? I joke about it, it was a year of hard work but the best class I ever had was the year before we started playing."

Explain why you think you've been able to last six seasons with an expansion team.

"I know it's a long reign for someone in this position, but I think it has to do with being able to go through the whole process and understand everyone's role. I've scouted, so I understand what the scouts are doing. I understand what the minor-league coaches are doing because I've done it. I've been general manager of a team, assistant coach, etc.

"But I think the key is having a really solid relationship. That's the most important thing: There's a trust factor. I trust David's long-term concept. I used to be really confrontational and I could get angry but, here, instead of crying that I don't have enough of this or that, I work with what I have because I understand the process and don't make excuses.

"Everybody in this organization is on the same page, working from the same plan. We're in an age where patience is basically gone. Coaches get pressured by players, fans and management. People are looking for instant gratification and that's not always possible. I'm fortunate to have an owner and general manager that aren't swayed by other people's thinking. They have a vision of how to build a team. We know we can't fill our voids with expensive players. We know we have to build from within so patience and trust are necessary at every level of the organization."