| Bryan Trottier | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 1997 | |||
 Trottier in 2008 | |||
| Born | (1956-07-17)July 17, 1956 (age 69) Val Marie, Saskatchewan, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | New York Islanders Pittsburgh Penguins | ||
| National team |  Canada and United States | ||
| NHL draft | 22nd overall,1974 New York Islanders | ||
| WHA draft | 18th overall,1974 Cincinnati Stingers | ||
| Playing career | 1975–1994 | ||
Bryan John Trottier (born July 17, 1956)[1] is a Canadian and American former professionalice hockeycentre who played 18 seasons in theNational Hockey League (NHL) for theNew York Islanders andPittsburgh Penguins. He won fourStanley Cups with the Islanders, two with the Penguins and one as an assistant coach with theColorado Avalanche. He shares the NHL record forpoints in a single period with six (four goals and two assists).[2][3] He is alsoone of only eight NHL players with multiple five-goal games. In August 2014, Trottier was announced as an assistant coach for theBuffalo Sabres.[4] In 2017, Trottier was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in history.[5]
Trottier grew up in the town ofVal Marie, Saskatchewan, Canada, located betweenSwift Current and theMontana border with his parents and four siblings.[6] His father was ofCreeMétis descent, and his mother is ofIrish origin.[7] He experienced racism as a child, but his parents encouraged him to be proud of his native heritage.[8] Trottier has one older sister, Carol, and three younger siblings, Kathy, Monty andRocky. Monty played professional minor league hockey, and Rocky played in 38 games for theNew Jersey Devils.[6]
Growing up in the 1960s, Trottier wanted to be like his idolJean Béliveau. When he was learning to skate, his father would clear out the dam on the creek across their home with a machete, to create a surface to practice on.[9]
As a child, Trottier played for the Climax Hockey Team inClimax, Saskatchewan and for theSwift Current Broncos as a junior.[10]
 | This section of abiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Bryan Trottier" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(April 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Trottier claims that without his friendTiger Williams, he would have dropped out of hockey due to homesickness. Trottier and Tiger became best friends due to the special bond they built early on in their careers/academy.[9]
Nicknamed "Trots," Trottier was drafted in the second round, 22nd overall, by theNew York Islanders in the1974 NHL Entry Draft, the team he played his first 15 seasons in the NHL with.[11] He set an NHL rookie record of 95 points and won theCalder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year in1975–76, though the record was later broken byPeter Šťastný of theQuebec Nordiques in1980–81.
Trottier's best offensive season was1978–79 when he scored 134 points, earning him theArt Ross Trophy as the League's top scorer, as well as theHart Memorial Trophy as NHL MVP. In winning the Art Ross, he became the first player from a post-Original Six expansion team to win the award. In that same season, he led the NHL in assists with 87, which he had also done the year before with 77.
Trottier was one of the core players on the Islanders'dynasty teams from the 1980s. He won four Stanley Cups during his time with the Islanders from1980 to1983. During New York's first Stanley Cup in 1980, he won theConn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. In1981–82, Trottier scored 50 goals, the highest single-season total of his career.
During the early 1980s, whenWayne Gretzky set numerous scoring marks, Islanders broadcasterStan Fischler and head coachAl Arbour nonetheless maintained that Trottier was the league's best player over Gretzky. Trottier was described as a forward possessing an all-around game including ruggedness and defensive responsibility, and there were comparisons toMilt Schmidt andGordie Howe. Arbour stated, "Gretzky is an offensive genius for sure. But at this stage Trots gives you more things. Defensively, he's outstanding. And he's physically tough. He comes up with his 100 points a year, automatically, along with everything else!"[12]
Trottier was often referred to as the "glue" on the Islanders team, centring his fellow starsClark Gillies andMike Bossy on a line known as "The Trio Grande." While the 1977–78 season was Bossy's rookie year, the Trio Grande at one point led the NHL in scoring above the top lines of theMontreal Canadiens and theColorado Rockies.[13] Other linemates that played with Trottier includedJohn Tonelli,Bob Bourne andBob Nystrom. Trottier, however, was most known for his dynamic on-ice partnership with Mike Bossy during his prime years with the Islanders until Bossy's early retirement at the end of the 1987 season.
Undaunted by heavy criticism from fellow Canadians,[citation needed] Trottier chose to play for theUnited States in the1984 Canada Cup tournament, after having previously representedCanada in 1981, because he wanted to pay back the country in which he lived and because his wife was American.[citation needed] He was able to obtain the necessary U.S. citizenship in July 1984 because he hadMétis ancestry on his father's side (Cree/Chippewa).[14] His North American Indian Card (for which he qualified because his grandmother was a Chippewa) entitled him to citizenship in both the U.S. and Canada, as well as a U.S. passport, which was all he needed for tournament eligibility.[14]
Unlike other star centremen, longevity was not Trottier's hallmark.[citation needed] Following his 13th season, his skills seemed to deteriorate precipitously, decreasing from 82 points in 1988 to 45 points just one year later, and 24 points in 1990.[15] After that low output, Islanders management released Trottier from his contract, believing that his best years were behind him and that younger centers such asPat LaFontaine andBrent Sutter should get his ice time.[citation needed] He ranks second in Islanders history in goals, and first in assists and points. It could be noted, however, that even as Trottier's scoring declined, he remained a strong defensive player and team leader.[12]
ThePittsburgh Penguins signed Trottier as a free agent on July 20, 1990, to provide experience and leadership to a young team. He won theStanley Cup for the fifth and sixth times with Pittsburgh in1991 and1992, respectively. Trottier took the1992–93 season off, returning to the Isles in a front-office capacity, but financial troubles, stemming from poor investments, forced Trottier to re-sign as a free agent with the Penguins on June 22, 1993, and return to the ice with the Penguins for the1993–94 season.[citation needed] He retired again following a disappointing final season where he scored just four goals in 41 games. At the time of his retirement, his point total ranked sixth in NHL history.
After serving as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins until 1997, he took a similar position with theColorado Avalanche, where he won his seventh career Stanley Cup in2001.
Trottier was named as head coach of the New York Rangers in 2002, much to the ire of Islander fans. However, his brief stint with the Rangers lasted only 54 games, slightly longer than the halfway mark of the season. In addition to receiving criticism from Isles fans who labeled him a traitor, he drew the rage of Ranger fans as well, who felt he misused his offensively-gifted players—such asEric Lindros andPavel Bure—by having them play the neutral-zone trap (a defensive tactic used to slow down the opponent, but also limiting the user's offensive chances). At the time of his dismissal at the hands of General ManagerGlen Sather, Trottier had coached 54 games, posting a 21–26–6–1 record and a .454 winning percentage.[16]
On June 1, 2006, Trottier returned to the Islanders as the team's executive director of player development.[17]
On July 29, 2014, Trottier was hired as an assistant coach for theBuffalo Sabres.[18]
Steve Yzerman considered Trottier his favourite player, donning the number 19 in his honour.[19][full citation needed]
Trottier was inducted into theHockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1997.[20] During his induction speech, Trottier spoke about his mother's encouragement of his pride in his Aboriginal identity.[8]
After many of his Islander teammates, including linemates Mike Bossy and Clark Gillies, were honored by the Islanders organization by having their numbers retired, Trottier was expected to be next; his number 19 was eventually raised to the rafters on October 20, 2001.
As of 2025, Trottier sits 13th all-time with 182 playoff points (71 goals and 111 assists) in 221 games played.[21] Trottier is currently ranked 19th all-time in NHL regular-season points. He is the Islanders' all-time career leader in assists and points, for the regular season and playoffs. Trottier was named by Islanders fans as the second greatest player in franchise history, ahead ofDenis Potvin and behind Mike Bossy.[citation needed][needs update]
Trottier has four children from two marriages.[22] Following his retirement from playing, Trottier played for thePittsburgh Phantoms of theRoller Hockey International league in its 1994 season.[citation needed]
One of Bryan's grandsons, Parker Trottier, captained theUnited States to the gold medal in themen's tournament at the2024 Winter Youth Olympics.[23]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1972–73 | Swift Current Broncos | WCJHL | 67 | 16 | 29 | 45 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Swift Current Broncos | WCJHL | 68 | 41 | 71 | 112 | 76 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 8 | ||
| 1974–75 | Lethbridge Broncos | WCJHL | 67 | 46 | 98 | 144 | 103 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 14 | ||
| 1975–76 | New York Islanders | NHL | 80 | 32 | 63 | 95 | 21 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 8 | ||
| 1976–77 | New York Islanders | NHL | 76 | 30 | 42 | 72 | 34 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 2 | ||
| 1977–78 | New York Islanders | NHL | 77 | 46 | 77 | 123 | 46 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1978–79 | New York Islanders | NHL | 76 | 47 | 87 | 134 | 50 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 13 | ||
| 1979–80 | New York Islanders | NHL | 78 | 42 | 62 | 104 | 68 | 21 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 16 | ||
| 1980–81 | New York Islanders | NHL | 73 | 31 | 72 | 103 | 74 | 18 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 34 | ||
| 1981–82 | New York Islanders | NHL | 80 | 50 | 79 | 129 | 88 | 19 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 40 | ||
| 1982–83 | New York Islanders | NHL | 80 | 34 | 55 | 89 | 68 | 17 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 18 | ||
| 1983–84 | New York Islanders | NHL | 68 | 40 | 71 | 111 | 59 | 21 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 29 | ||
| 1984–85 | New York Islanders | NHL | 68 | 28 | 31 | 59 | 47 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 1985–86 | New York Islanders | NHL | 78 | 37 | 59 | 96 | 72 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 1986–87 | New York Islanders | NHL | 80 | 23 | 64 | 87 | 50 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 12 | ||
| 1987–88 | New York Islanders | NHL | 77 | 30 | 52 | 82 | 48 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 1988–89 | New York Islanders | NHL | 73 | 17 | 28 | 45 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | New York Islanders | NHL | 59 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 29 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1990–91 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 52 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 24 | 23 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 29 | ||
| 1991–92 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 63 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 54 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 8 | ||
| 1993–94 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 41 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 1,279 | 524 | 901 | 1,425 | 912 | 221 | 71 | 112 | 183 | 277 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Canada | WJC | 7 | 5 | 2 | 7 | — | |
| 1981 | Canada | CC | 7 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 6 | |
| 1984 | United States | CC | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | |
| Junior totals | 7 | 5 | 2 | 7 | — | |||
| Senior totals | 13 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 14 | |||
| League | Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Division rank | Result | |||
| NHL | NYR | 2002–03 | 54 | 21 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 49 | (fired) | — |
Team records
League records
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Winner of theConn Smythe Trophy 1980 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of theHart Memorial Trophy 1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of theArt Ross Trophy 1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of theCalder Trophy 1976 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of theKing Clancy Memorial Trophy 1989 | Succeeded by |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by | NHLPA President October 24,1984 – November 9,1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Head coach of the New York Rangers 2002–03 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
