New Jersey Devils: 5 Craziest Lou Lamoriello Head Coach Firings

Lou is gonna Lou. The New York Islanders fired head coach Barry Trotz on Monday morning, leading to one of the best head coaches in the league becoming an automatic free agent. Trotz isn’t a perfect coach, but that doesn’t exist in today’s NHL. The league is so nuanced nowadays, and it’s hard to figure out the perfect system for a lineup when the collection of talent is completely different than it was in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s.

Still, Lou Lamoriello made one of the most surprising moves in the league this season when he ended Trotz’s tenure early. He still had one year left on his contract paying him $4 million. It shocked the NHL world, and now it has us thinking of the times Lou Lamoriello made a similar move when he was with the New Jersey Devils.

It’s been a while since we heard Lou treating a head coach like a used piece of meat. In his 28 years with the New Jersey Devils, he had 17 head coaches including interim coaches. This doesn’t count two reigns for both Larry Robinson and Jacques Lemaire. That’s right, he fired coaches and then rehired them. This is something only Lou Lamoriello can get away with.

So, let’s take a look at some of the most shocking firings in the history of Lamoriello. It’s hard to keep track of them all, but let’s focus on the most shocking of them all. We are only looking at his New Jersey Devils tenure, so no Trotz on this list.