So if Trotz gets the Jack Adams, does that mean ....

[ILikeItILoveIt]

Barry is the odds-on favorite to win the coveted coach-of-the-year (Jack Adams) trophy. The Caps have been dominant and many attribute it to the new culture Trotz brought in. So lets say, he gets it.

Does that make our firing of him a mistake?

Many will say, no, because Barry had done all he could here and a change was necessary. That's debatable. We went 2 years without making the playoffs, but we were without Pekka for much of the time.

Then there's the "Caps are blessed with more talent" and that's why Trotz is winning. Well, theye had talent for years but lacked discipline. Trotz brought that discipline with him.

Then finally there's the "If Trotz had stayed, we'd done no better than we have under Lavy" (which ain't bad, approaching 2 playoff berths). Hard to know. Our current team may be the most talented Pred team ever, or close to the 2007 team. What would Barry have done with that talent?

Most Pred fans have rooted for Trotz since he left. Many have adopted the Caps as their Eastern team in hopes Barry does well. However, nobody could have envisioned the GS Warrior-like dominance the Caps have displayed this year.

So the fact remains, the only coach we ever knew was fired and will likely win the Jack Adams award. He's being lauded by the NHL Universe as a great coach.

So in retrospect, was it a mistake?

Click to read more...

 

[Cashville]

I love the guy and miss him dearly, but I think we both needed a change. Candidly, I think it has worked out well for both sides. Yeah WSH is a better team and Trotz has been an important part of their resurgence, but it's not all Trotz either. Their roster top to bottom is better than ours (not a huge margin, but objectively it is better) and they have the best pure goal scorer in history imo.

I will say that I think losing Mitch Korn was a huge blow and part of Peks' issues most of this year until recently.

 

[I Will Son]

No it was not a mistake, I'm sick of people saying that. He was here for 15 years. His time was up and the team was visibly not as driven as they once were. Lavy is what we need right now. Idc who wins the Jack Adams

 

[Preds Partisan]

The only mistake was not firing him earlier. I don't care what he does after he left I only know what he wasn't able to accomplish here.

 

[glenngineer]

Winning the Jack Adams doesn't mean he's learned to win in the playoffs. I think the guy is an amazing person and a solid coach but until he proves it during the playoffs, he will be labeled as a great regular season coach and a failure in the playoffs.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

No it was not a mistake, I'm sick of people saying that. He was here for 15 years. His time was up and the team was visibly not as driven as they once were. Lavy is what we need right now. Idc who wins the Jack Adams

Agreed. He had his shot here, and then some. I'm happy for him. He's a great coach and a fantastic person. He just wasn't going to get it done here.

 

[Softball99]

Without the pain of change... No one elevates their game... both ways... the organization finally changes signings...i.e. Goose-Nystrom types to Joey-Forsberg types... Trotz learns how to become more flexible with offensive talent

 

[David Singleton]

No, it wasn't a mistake.

Barry is a great coach and a better person. I root for him in Washington for both reasons. I would love to see a Predators vs. Capitals Finals, and if the Preds fall short of the Cup Finals, I'd root for Barry to win the Cup. If Barry won the Cup, it couldn't happen to a better person.

And even if he wins it, that wouldn't make his departure from Nashville a mistake.

It was time for a change. Both for the Predators and for Barry himself. Things were too comfortable, too much of the same.

Barry's departure has started a change to the style of play of the team (with Laviolette's hiring) and a change to the style of roster. Whether those changes produce better results on the ice, they were necessary to shakeup the "sameness" of each season.

If Lavy does not succeed to the standards the he and management aspire, and is ultimately relieved at some point, it still doesn't make Barry's departure a mistake. It would be more accurate to identify the mistakes made after Barry's departure in that scenario.

As a fan, I am not jealous of any success Barry achieves with another organization. I am a fan of the Predators and root for them to win every game. But I'm also a fan of good people too, and Barry is that.

 

[LCPreds]

I think it was a good thing for him and us. Would I ever welcome him back eventually if the circumstances were right? Hell yes.

 

[ILikeItILoveIt]

Ever wonder what Trotz and Lane say when they review our game films and prepare for us? Things like:

Geez, same 'ol Willy. Look at that. Head case.

Sellin' out on defense a lot out there. How quickly they forget!

Wonder if Ekholm ever got that dog?

Wow, they got Ellie playing Big-Boy minutes. Still looks small to me.

That Forsberg guy needs to dump it in and chase it more. He's a turnover machine. There's still room in my Doghouse.

 

[PredsV82]

No, it was not a mistake, but at the same time I think Trotz would have done as well as Lavy with the talent we have now. There are plenty on here who will argue that Trotz would have stifled Forsberg, and would have wasted Neal/RyJo etc, but all you have to do is look back to the Sully/Kariya/Arnott years to know thats a false accusation, as well as noticing that offensive wizard lavy still hasnt made Wilson any better, and in fact hes argably worse.

We will know a heck of a lot more after the playoffs. if the Caps win the Eastern Conference or the Cup, then obviously the "Trotz cant win in the playoffs" talk is banished forever. But if the Caps crap out in round one or two, there will be whispers(or shouts) of "I told you so..."

 

[ThirdManIn]

Winning the Jack Adams doesn't mean he's learned to win in the playoffs. I think the guy is an amazing person and a solid coach but until he proves it during the playoffs, he will be labeled as a great regular season coach and a failure in the playoffs.

It is also worth noting that the Jack Adams is for this season. Had he immediately won it after leaving there may be a stronger case, or had he been fired early in the season and went on to win it with his new team an even stronger argument could be made. But I agree with those who are saying his time here was done.

 

[sparkle twin]

I have a hard time rooting for Barry Trotz to win the Jack Adams.

All those years when we had good teams and he should have won the award, or Weber should have won a Norris, or other Preds should have won or at the very least been nominated for awards and weren't, we were overlooked. Whether it was because we play in the south or small market or someone else truly was better I don't know.

But we've always known Trotz was a good coach. We were the number one team in the league at times. Yet, he never was acknowledged by certain people. Now he goes to Washington and it's like he's the new coaching darling and people all of a sudden are talking about what a wonderful job he does. They act like this is his first coaching job and it's just come out of nowhere.

Maybe it's petty, I don't know and I really don't care, but that is why I have a hard time rooting for Trotz to win the Jack Adams trophy.

 

[klt2001]

We would have still sucked as Poile wouldn't have gone for the players he did under Trotz who was focused on a more defensive minded than offensive team. It was time for a change and it worked out for both parties.

 

[triggrman]

Trotz opened it up too when we had the Kariya, Arnott, Peter Forsberg, Dumont, team.

Then the playoffs happened. He almost immediately started harping on Arnott about being more responsible and playing a 2 way game. Trotz pretty much pushed Arnott out after that. That's when the "mor' grit" stuff started.

So if they don't win, it will be interesting to see his reaction.

 

[PredsV82]

I have a hard time rooting for Barry Trotz to win the Jack Adams.

All those years when we had good teams and he should have won the award, or Weber should have won a Norris, or other Preds should have won or at the very least been nominated for awards and weren't, we were overlooked. Whether it was because we play in the south or small market or someone else truly was better I don't know.

But we've always known Trotz was a good coach. We were the number one team in the league at times. Yet, he never was acknowledged by certain people. Now he goes to Washington and it's like he's the new coaching darling and people all of a sudden are talking about what a wonderful job he does. They act like this is his first coaching job and it's just come out of nowhere.

Maybe it's petty, I don't know and I really don't care, but that is why I have a hard time rooting for Trotz to win the Jack Adams trophy.

so, you'd rather some undeserving coach from another large media market get it? Not sure I follow your logic.

 

[TitansVolsPreds615]

I'm quite positive the Jones for Johansen deal never happens with Trotz. Forsberg may be playing on the 3rd line.

He is a good coach and was just what Washington needed. Getting their offensive studs to play a two way game.

Lavi was just what we needed, getting our defensively sound players to play a more aggressive offensive style.

Sometimes coaches get stale. Look at Bobby Bowden at FSU. They canned him for the new guy Jimbo Fisher and boom National Champs a couple years later. Sometimes players need a new voice guiding them.

 

[deanwormer]

I want Barry to win the Jack if Lavy isn't gonna'.

I don't for a minute think that the changeover shouldn't have happened. Doesn't necessarily mean I think Lavy is a better coach either - just that sometimes changing things up is good for everyone, and it clearly was for Trotzy, and if you watch the vets that played under Trotz and continue here, their game has opened up and grown, too.

Pretty much a definition of win-win.

 

[sparkle twin]

so, you'd rather some undeserving coach from another large media market get it? Not sure I follow your logic.

No. I know he probably deserves it this year, but I just hate that it takes people leaving here for them to get recognized as a top coach/player.

It's more of a " Really? Now you're going to recognize him as a good coach, but when he had top teams here he didn't get jack?" kind of feeling. I just don't want to hear people go on and on about someone as if this is the first time they've ever been a good coach in their entire career when he was practically ignored here.

I really would rather see the Anaheim, Tampa, or Florida coach win this year. Maybe in another year or two I'll be ready to root for him to win that award, but not yet.

 

[PredsV82]

No. I know he probably deserves it this year, but I just hate that it takes people leaving here for them to get recognized as a top coach/player.

It's more of a " Really? Now you're going to recognize him as a good coach, but when he had top teams here he didn't get jack?" kind of feeling. I just don't want to hear people go on and on about someone as if this is the first time they've ever been a good coach in their entire career when he was practically ignored here.

I really would rather see the Anaheim, Tampa, or Florida coach win this year. Maybe in another year or two I'll be ready to root for him to win that award, but not yet.

To be sure, Trotz deserved it the year he got our ragtag post-firesale team into the playoffs, but typically just squeaking into the playoffs would only warrant an Adams if the team had previously been really hapless, and the Preds had already been a playoff team.

But we should also realize Trotz never did with us what he has done with Washington, i.e. win a Presidents trophy so convincingly. He never even won a division here. I think him winning the Adams this year has less to do with him finally getting exposure and more to do with just what an amazing season his team has had