Flyers to meet with Barry Trotz; can they woo him away from Winnipeg?

The Philadelphia Flyers are set to meet with Barry Trotz, who has become a prime candidate to be their seventh coach in the last nine seasons.

Trotz is expected to meet with the Flyers’ management Friday. He interviewed with Winnipeg earlier this week, and the fact he didn’t sign with the Jets is a bit surprising.

Apparently, he’s weighing his options.

And the Flyers reportedly are going to throw a lot of money his way.

“He’s a coach that we think highly of and certainly have a lot of interest in,” Dave Scott, chairman of the Flyers’ parent company, Comcast Spectacor, said on Wednesday night.

The Philadelphia Flyers had the second-worst record (25-46-11) in franchise history this season, and they missed the playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time since 1992-93-1993-94.

They were decimated with injuries, most notably to top-line center Sean Couturier and top-pairing defenseman Ryan Ellis.

As for the coaches the Flyers plan to interview, Scott said the organization “doesn’t want to miss out on any opportunities. I can tell you we have a good process, which is moving at the right pace. We will get a great coach.”

Trotz, 59,  was stunningly fired by the New York Islanders on May 9; on Monday, assistant Lane Lambert was named as his replacement.

A native of Winnipeg, Trotz seems a good fit for the Jets. His mother passed away in January, and his father still lives in Manitoba. Vegas is also believed hot on his trail, among others.

In 2018, Trotz led Washington to its first Stanley Cup. He resigned a short time later after a dispute over money.

Hello, Islanders.

Quick transformation

In his first year on Long Island, Trotz transformed the Isles’ defense. New York went from last in the NHL (3.57 per game) in goals allowed to first (2.33) in his initial season with the team. He would bring some much-needed defensive structure to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Trotz has a 914-670-60-168 record and is the third-winningest coach in NHL history. He coached the Isles for four seasons, making the playoffs in each of the first three years. This season, New York went 37-35-10 — it started with a 13-game road trip because its new arena wasn’t ready, and never recovered — and missed the playoffs.

In four seasons with the Isles, Trotz’s teams went 152-101-34 in the regular season, and he won the Jack Adams Trophy as the coach of the year in 2019.

His resume is outstanding — here’s my column from last week on why he would be a perfect fit —  and the Flyers would be hard-pressed to find a better coach.

If, of course, he decides he wants to be here.