Report: Former Capitals Boss Trotz Turns Down Jets Job, Stepping Back From Coaching

Former Washington Capitals coach Barry Trotz will reportedly not jump right back into coaching right away, turning down the Winnipeg Jets offer for the head coaching gig.

Per TSN’s Darren Dreger, Trotz wants to focus on his family and informed the Jets of his decision on Friday. He found it “difficult” to not accept the role that is close to his hometown in Manitoba. And although he is stepping back, he has not ruled out a return behind the bench at the NHL level in the coming years.

In a shocking move, the New York Islanders fired Trotz following a rough season that saw the Islanders miss the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Trotz had led them to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals appearances before the 2021-22 campaign. He finished his tenure with a 152-102-34 record (.587) over 288 games.

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Prior to his run on The Island, Trotz served as the Capitals head coach from 2015 to 2018 after a 15-year tenure with the Nashville Predators. He led Washington to its first-ever Stanley Cup title before resigning after the season and moving on to New York. Over four seasons with the Capitals, Trotz went 205-89-34 (.667) in 328 games.

Trotz had reportedly been among the finalists for the head coaching gig with the Philadelphia Flyers, but the team instead hired John Tortorella. He had also been linked to the Florida Panthers. Florida ultimately hired Paul Maurice.

Over 1,812 NHL games, Trotz is 914-670-60-168 (.512) and also won the Jack Adams Award twice (2015-16, 2018-19). Trotz’s 914 wins rank second all-time among NHL coaches, just 55 behind Joel Quenneville. Had he remained in the NHL, he could have broken the record in the coming seasons as the winningest bench boss of all time.