NASHVILLE, TENN. — Barry Trotz is synonymous with the Nashville Predators.
He was the team's very first head coach when it launched as an expansion franchise, and later returned to finish his legendary career as the team's general manager.
After retiring July 1st, Trotz will be honored in a pregame ceremony Thursday night prior to the Predators game against the Capitals and officially enshrined as the sixth member of the Preds' Golden Hall.
"It means a lot," Trotz told Newschannel 5 Tuesday. "I hope it means I had an impact on the team and the community. It's an honor to be a part of that group. The Nashville Predators aren't here without David Poile and Terry Crisp and Pete Weber and Pekka Rinne and Shea Weber. They're very impactful. To be a part of that group is special."
It's an honor that seemed far-fetched when David Poile hired Trotz in August of 1997 to become a first time head coach in charge of an expansion team in a non-traditional hockey market in the American south.
"I couldn't imagine, A- the organization and how big it is and how it's grown," Trotz said. "I can't imagine the city being where it is right now."
But moving to Nashville became an opportunity of a lifetime for the Canadian-born Trotz. After his playing career as a defenseman ended in the minor leagues, Trotz was eager to coach and prove he could do it in the world's best league.
"The first time I stepped on the bench was really, really special because I didn't know if I would ever get there," Trotz said of his debut. "And you got a chance just once to do it, and I was fortunate to do it many more times, but thinking if I could ever do that once that was going to be a dream come true."
Trotz quickly gained a reputation as one of the NHL's top coaches. Working alongisde Poile, the duo helped the Predators gain tracation in Tennessee and throughout the mid-south.
They established an identity as the little team that could, quickly becoming a thorn in the side of many of the league's more established franchises. Then later, Trotz's teams became perennial contenders to make the Stanley Cup Playoff.
"I'm most proud about - and the more I think about it - is the resiliency that we showed," Trotz said. "We didn't have a lot handed to us. We were always the underdog. We didn't have this and we didn't have that, but we didn't complain about it. Our motto was 'no excuses'. We'll find a way, and we did."
Trotz coached more than 1,000 games over 15 seasons in Nashville. His 557 wins rank as the fourth most by a coach with a single organization.
The slow and steady build reached a peak in 2011 when the Predators defeated the Anaheim Ducks in six games for their first ever playoff series win. The Preds then followed that up in 2012 with a series win over the rival Red Wings.
"Finally getting through the Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim and winning some of those series," Trotz said. "Those were big things for the franchise."
Nashville parted ways with Trotz in 2014, but the two sides never lost touch.
Trotz coached eight more seasons with the Capitals and Islanders. Many fans in Nashville proudly cheered when he reached the mountain top in 2018, leading the Caps to the Stanley Cup title.
"I had lifted the Stanley Cup up probably a thousand times as a kid," Trotz said. "I never won it as a player, but I won it as a coach. Someone asked me what does it feel like? I said, 'every emotion you've ever had as a human comes out all at once.' You start thinking about all the people that helped you on the journey, all the people that you shared that journey with, all the people that missed that journey. It was pretty special."
And Smashville again welcomed him with open arms when Trotz returned to replace Poile as general manager in February 2023.
He officially took over as G.M. that summer and ran the team's personnel and management for three seasons, reconnecting with the team and people his family had fallen in love with during their first stint in Nashville.
"That was a big decision on coming back," Trotz said. "Where are our friends? Nashville. Where did we love to live? Nashville. Who'd you love to work with? Nashville. I had three our four teams trying to get me to coach at the time, but we made the decision to go into management and, for me, it was a good decision."
During his time as general manager, Trotz led the organization's charge to upgrade player facilities and begin renovation of the team's practice rink. He also continued to re-stock the prospect pool as the organization now looks to the future believing that its best days are ahead.
"The future's really bright for Nashville going forward," Trotz said. "You've got great management in Chris MacFarland and great ownership in Bill Haslam, so being behind the curtain in the early years and not knowing if it was even going to survive to seeing where it is now, that's what I'm most proud of."
The 64-year-old Trotz is content in retirement in the city his family calls home. It's a place where he left a lasting impact not once, but twice during his Hall of Fame career.
And a place where his legacy will now be enshrined forever inside Bridgestone Arena, as well as in the hearts of the team's fans.
"I hope (I'm viewed) as a good guy who was passionate about helping the Nashville Predators be relevant," Trotz said. " A guy who helped establish hockey in the south in Nashville and a small town guy who made Nashville his home."
