Bryan Trottier - Playing Career

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. He set an NHL rookie record of 95 points and won the Calder Trophy as the league's Rookie of the year in 1975–76. The rookie points record was broken by Peter Stastny of the Quebec Nordiques in 1980–81. Stastny was still considered a "rookie" in the NHL despite the fact he had previously played professionally in Czechoslovakia.

Trottier's 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, 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 from 1980 to 1983. During the Islanders' first Stanley Cup in 1980, he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. In 1981–82, Trottier scored 50 goals, the highest single-season total of his career.

During the early 1980s when Wayne Gretzky set numerous scoring marks, Islanders' broadcaster Stan Fischler and coach Al Arbour nonetheless maintained that Trottier was the best player over Gretzky. Trottier was described as a forward possessing an all-around game including ruggedness, and there have been comparisons to Milt Schmidt, Gordie Howe, and Steve Yzerman. 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!"

Trottier was often referred to as the "glue" on the Isles team, centering his fellow stars Clark Gillies and Mike 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 the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Rockies. Other linemates that played with Trottier also included John Tonelli, Bob Bourne, Bob Nystrom, as well as a few others. However, Trottier 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, 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.

Unlike other star centermen, longevity was not Trottier's hallmark. 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. After that low output, Islanders management released Trottier from his contract, believing that his best years were behind him and that younger centers such as Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter should get his ice time. 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 effective in body checking and defensive abilities.

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. Trottier took 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 with the Penguins 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.