Barry Trotz says coaching an Original Six team would 'intrigue' him

We're not yet a month into the new NHL season and some coaching seats are already getting a little warm.

And, when the time comes that a team does make a change behind the bench, there is at least one Stanley Cup-winning coach who might eventually be available.

In fact, when Barry Trotz says he's ready to return to the NHL, it may motivate a team to make a move and scoop him up before someone else does.

Trotz, who won a Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018 and reached back-to-back conference finals with the New York Islanders in 2020 and 2021, was pursued by multiple teams to fill vacancies this past summer. Instead of getting right back into the league after being let go by the Islanders, Trotz took some personal time to deal with family matters.

Is he ready to come back now?

"I think No. 1 is, I'm not quite there," Trotz said on the Cam and Strick Podcast on Tuesday. "I think probably to get everything settled, I'm going to be into early December before I feel comfortable (that) I've got the family stuff in control and after that I'm probably going to have to take a little break, a week or two, to maybe go somewhere warm in the winter and then after that ..."

Trotz said he still has a desire to return to the NHL and has been watching lots of games this season, keeping an eye on the league.

Over the summer, Trotz was connected to Winnipeg as a possibility to coach his hometown Jets, but they went with Rick Bowness when Trotz couldn't commit. Right now, frustration is building in the winless Vancouver market, and Bruce Boudreau may be on thin ice.

Trotz has coached in Nashville, Washington and in New York with the Islanders in his NHL career, but would he consider coaching a Canadian team, where the pressure and attention is on another level?

"I don't know if any coach that takes a job in Canada ever wants to deal with it," he said. "Original Six, for me, I have never coached an Original Six team. That would intrigue me ... those teams always intrigue you. But the Canadian teams -- you're under the microscope. You sort of are in New York, too.

"I think it takes a special coach, special player, to play in Canada because there's a different pressure."

There could be another option for Trotz, though. There has been some speculation that he may perhaps rather return to the NHL in a front office role, instead of his usual place behind a bench.

Does Trotz still want to be a head coach first, or could his focus turn instead to one day becoming a GM in the league?

"I can't really answer that, and the reason I can't is I'm consumed with what I'm doing right now," Trotz said. "I think I have the skill set to be able to do that. Do I know what I want to do right now? As of today, I don't."