Bryan Trottier

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Position	Center
Nickname(s)	Trots
Height Weight	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 195 lb (88 kg/13 st 13 lb)
Pro clubs	New York Islanders Pittsburgh Penguins
Nationality	Canada &  United States
Born	July 17, 1956(1956-07-17), Val Marie, Saskatchewan, Canada
NHL Draft	Rnd 2, 22nd overall, 1974 New York Islanders
Pro career	1975 – 1994
Hall of Fame, 1997

Bryan John Trottier (born July 17, 1956, in Val Marie, Saskatchewan, Canada)^[1] is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins. He won four Stanley Cup rings with the Islanders, two with the Penguins and one as an assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche.

[edit] Playing career

Nicknamed "Trots", he was drafted in 2nd Round, 22nd overall by the New York Islanders in the 1974 NHL Entry Draft. Trottier played his first fifteen seasons in the NHL with the Islanders.^[2] He won the Calder Trophy as the league's Rookie of the year in 1975-76. 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, 1979-80, 1980-81, 1981-82, and 1982-83. During the Islanders' first Stanley Cup in 1979-80, he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. His best offensive season was 1978-79 when he had 134 points which earned him the Art Ross Trophy as well as the Hart Trophy as league 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, something he did the year before as well with 77 assists.

Despite Wayne Gretzky's dominance and scoring records, Trottier was still universally regarded as the game's best all-around player in the early 1980s combining potent offense, rock-solid defense, and expert play on special teams. Trottier was often referred to as the "glue" on the Isles team, centering his fellow stars Denis Potvin, Clark Gillies, Bob Nystrom, and Mike Bossy. Following his 13th season, Trottier's skills seemed to deteriorate precipitously, decreasing from 82 points in 1988 to 45 points just one year later, and 24 points in 1990. The long run of success of the Islanders playoff runs seemed to have caught up with Trottier.

Undaunted by heavy criticism from fellow Canadians, Trottier chose to play for Team USA in the 1984 Canada Cup tournament, after playing for Team Canada in 1981, because he wanted to pay back the country in which he lived and because his wife was American. He was able to obtain the necessary U.S. citizenship in July 1984 because he had Métis ancestry on his father's side (Cree/Chippewa). 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.

In 1990, the Islanders believed that Trottier's best years were behind him and that younger centers such as Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter should get his ice time. The Islanders released Trottier from his contract. He ranks second in Islanders history in goals, and first in assists and points. The Pittsburgh Penguins signed him as a free agent to provide experience and leadership to a young team. Trottier won the Stanley Cup for the fifth and sixth times with Pittsburgh in 1991 and 1992. He decided to take the 1992-93 season off, returning to the Isles in a front office capacity, but financial troubles, stemming from bad investments, forced Trottier to return to the ice for the 1993-94 season. He retired again following a disappointing final season where he scored only 4 goals in 41 games. At the time of his retirement, his point total ranked 6th in NHL history. Trottier was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1997.^[3]

Steve Yzerman, who was also renowned for his strong two-way play, considered Trottier his favorite player.^[4] Both players wore uniform number 19 throughout their careers.

[edit] Coaching statistics

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Achievements

• 1975- WCJHL All-Star Team
• 1976- Calder Memorial Trophy
• 1976- Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 1978- NHL First All-Star Team
• 1978- Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 1979- NHL First All-Star Team
• 1979- NHL Plus/Minus Leader (Highest in NHL History)
• 1979- Art Ross Trophy
• 1979- Hart Trophy
• 1980- Conn Smythe Trophy
• 1980- Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 1982- NHL Second All-Star Team
• 1982- Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 1983- Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 1984- NHL Second All-Star Team
• 1985- Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 1986- Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 1988- Bud Man of the Year Award
• 1989- King Clancy Memorial Trophy
• 1992- Played in NHL All-Star Game
• 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1991, 1992, 2001(as a coach) Stanley Cup Winner
• In 1998, he was ranked number 30 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

[edit] See also

• List of NHL statistical leaders
• List of retired NHL players
• List of NHL seasons
• List of players with 5 or more goals in an NHL game
• List of NHL players with 1000 points
• List of NHL players with 500 goals
• List of NHL players with 1000 games played

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• Bryan Trottier's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Bryan Trottier's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database