Tuesday night at Nassau Coliseum, former Capitals head coach Barry Trotz reached a historic milestone.
Trotz became only the fourth NHL head coach of all time to win 800 games after the New York Islanders defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-4 in a shootout.
Trotz joins Scotty Bowman, Joel Quenneville, and Ken Hitchcock as the only coaches to do so.
| Coach | Wins | Stanley Cups |
|---|---|---|
| Scotty Bowman | 1,244 | 9 |
| Joel Quenneville | 890 | 3 |
| Ken Hitchcock | 843 | 1 |
| Barry Trotz | 800 | 1 |
Barry had to wait until the dreaded shootout to finally get to 800, as Matthew Barzal ripped a wrister past Craig Anderson for the winning tally.
Mathew Barzal with a wicked wrister in the shootout to secure career win No. 8️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ for Barry Trotz!#CellySZN | #IceSurfing pic.twitter.com/Ku1Lw73jBr
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 6, 2019
When asked about the milestone after the game, Trotz refused to talk about it saying it was the “least of my mind today.”
Barry Trotz with his 800th #NHL win tonight!#OTTvsNYI post-game interview: pic.twitter.com/KtxZFFFNdK
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) March 6, 2019
The 2018-19 NHL season is Trotz’s 20th season coaching in the league. The first 15 of those seasons came with the Nashville Predators, where he recorded 557 wins in 1,196 games. The next four seasons came with the Capitals, where he recorded 205 wins in 328 games and also won his first Stanley Cup.
Trotz now has 38 wins in 66 games this season with the New York Islanders and is positioned to potentially win his second Jack Adams Award for best coach in the league after winning his first with the Caps in 2015-16. The Islanders were not expected to make the playoffs, but are currently tied with the Caps for first place in the Metropolitan Division with a month left to go in the season.
Barry Trotz earned the 800th regular-season win of his NHL career as the @NYIslanders (38-21-7, 83 points) reclaimed first place in the Metropolitan Division standings. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/N0gMk3RBSH
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 6, 2019
Game highlights
Headline photo: NHL
