Stefen Rosner
Whether New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello already has his Barry Trotz replacement locked and ready or is still looking is not known information at this time.
Upon Barry Trotz’s firing, I learned that former Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice, along with head coach turned television analyst John Tortorella, were two names on Lamoriello’s radar.
I also threw a few names out there that would make sense in Vegas Golden Knights current head coach, likely to be canned, Pete DeBoer, and Lane Lambert, who has been Trotz’s assistant coach since the Nashville Predators days.
Another name that would make sense on the island is Jim Montgomery.
Montgomery has been a member of the St. Louis Blues coaching staff since 2020, with his two-year deal coming to an end following these 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Blues are headed to the second round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs as they defeated the Minnesota Wild in six games, capping the series off with a 5-1 win on Thursday night.
The 52-year-old only has a year and a half of head coaching experience in the NHL. After a five-year stint as head coach of the University of Denver (more on that later), Montgomery got his chance at the NHL level in 2018.
In his first season with the Dallas Stars, his team finished fourth in the Central Division, with a record of 43-32-7.
His offense was the eighth-best in the NHL, averaging 2.69 goals per game. He had strong performances by Tyler Seguin (33 goals) and Jamie Benn (27 goals) along with Alexander Radulov (29 goals).
On the defensive side of the puck, the Stars allowed 2.31 goals per game, which was second-best in the NHL. They allowed 30.6 shots on their netminders per game, with recently retired netminder Ben Bishop between the pipes, who finished the season as a Vezina Trophy Finalist.
He would lose his job halfway through the 2019-20 season as he failed to live up to the code of conduct that was expected of him. Shortly after, Montgomery went to rehab for an alcohol problem.
That season, under interim head coach Rick Bowness, the Stars advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals before ultimately losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.
Montgomery went to rehab and was back coaching in hockey 10 months later.
