John Tavares has left Long Island, but the biggest change to hit New York this offseason may have been the departures of general manager Garth Snow and head coach Doug Weight.
In their place, the New York Islanders recruited former Toronto Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello, who then hired Barry Trotz, fresh off of a Stanley Cup championship with the division rival Washington Capitals.
The new faces will help restore the credibility of the franchise, according to Islanders legend Bryan Trottier.
"The credibility aspect, absolutely, instantaneously it's there," Trottier, a four-time Stanley Cup winner with the Islanders, told NHL.com's Dave McCarthy. "The media can't argue with their experiences and that's always been a little bit of a problem with the Islanders because if they don't do well, everybody's all over them. So now with Lou there, he's got credibility. Barry's got credibility.
"How do you second-guess a guy like (former Islanders coach) Al Arbour, a guy like Scotty Bowman, a guy like Barry Trotz? Those guys have years and years and years of experience."
While Trotz's Stanley Cup win with the Capitals was the first of his career, he brings no shortage of a winning history, as his 762 coaching victories rank fifth all time (and just 20 back of Arbour).
Lamoriello, meanwhile, has three Stanley Cup rings to his name from nearly three decades at the helm of the New Jersey Devils. He's also coming off a three-year stint as GM of the Maple Leafs that saw the legendary executive reshape the club into a championship contender. Of course, Lamoriello had a handful of intriguing building blocks with the Maple Leafs, but the Islanders have their fair share of impressive young talent as well.
"For (Mathew Barzal) to be an Islander and to have the kind rookie season he had, he's not disappointing anyone," Trottier added. "He's a down-to-earth kid and tying my rookie assist record was great. Sharing a record with a young, skilled kid like this is awesome. I see wonderful things for Mathew in the future and for the Islanders."
Should Barzal and the Islanders qualify for the playoffs this year, it will mark just the fourth time the franchise has done so in the past 12 seasons.
