Bryan John Trottier (born July 17, 1956) is a Canadian and American former professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Trottier was drafted with the 22nd pick in 1974 by the Islanders and made the opening lineup in 1975, which saw him set a rookie record for points (95) and win the Calder Memorial Trophy for his play. In the 1978–79 season, he had a career-high 134 points; on December 23, he became the first Islander to score five goals in a game and set an NHL record that same night when he recorded the most points in a single period with six (four goals and two assists); the record has been matched but never broken. In that season, he won the Art Ross Trophy as the leading-point scorer and also won the Hart Memorial Trophy for his valuable play; he was the first (and so far only) Islander to win both awards in franchise history. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy for his play in the 1980 Stanley Cup playoffs with 29 points in 21 games as the Islanders won the first of four consecutive Stanley Cup championships. In a game on February 13 of the 1981–82 season, he recorded a five-goal game to become the seventh NHL player with multiple five-goal games.
He recorded his 500th goal in 1990, becoming the 15th player to reach the mark in NHL history. He was bought out of his contract by the Islanders after the season ended up and he subsequently signed as a free agent with Pittsburgh, where he provided veteran leadership as the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992. He initially retired in 1992 but returned for one more season with Pittsburgh before finally retiring in 1994. One of the best Islanders in franchise history, Trottier recorded 524 goals and 901 assists for 1,425 points in over 1,200 games; in the playoffs, he recorded 182 points in 221 games played. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997 and his jersey was retired by the Islanders in 2001. In 2017, Trottier was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in history.
Trottier served as an assistant coach with the Penguins from 1993 to 1997. He became a coach with the Colorado Avalanche in 1998, where he was on the staff when the Avalanche won the Cup in 2001 to give Trottier a sixth championship. He served as coach of the New York Rangers in 2002, where he coached for 54 games before being fired. He worked in the front office for the Islanders beginning in 2006 before being hired as an assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres in 2014, where he coached the 2014–15 season.
Trottier grew up in the town of Val Marie, Saskatchewan, Canada, located between Swift Current and the Montana border with his parents and four siblings. His father was of Cree Métis descent, and his mother is of Irish origin. He experienced racism as a child, but his parents encouraged him to be proud of his native heritage. Trottier has one older sister, Carol, and three younger siblings, Kathy, Monty and Rocky. Monty played professional minor league hockey, and Rocky played in 38 games for the New Jersey Devils.
Growing up in the 1960s, Trottier wanted to be like his idol Jean Béliveau. When he was learning to skate, his father would clear out the dam on the creek across their home with a machete, to create a surface to practice on.
As a child, Trottier played for the Climax Hockey Team in Climax, Saskatchewan. He joined the Swift Current Broncos in 1972. It was with the Broncos that he met Tiger Williams, who he credited with teaching key lessons (such as fighting) to Trottier. In one instance, a homesick Trottier was debating on quitting hockey, even planning to go back to school after having arrived back home for Christmas. Williams arrived at his house and insisted on him coming back with to the Broncos, which worked out for Trottier, who credited him as making hockey become fun again. In that season, Trottier recorded 157 total points in 135 games. Playing with the Lethbridge Broncos in the 1974–75 WCHL season. he had 46 goals and 98 assists in 67 games and was named league MVP.
Trottier was drafted in both of the 1974 WHA amateur draft and the 1974 NHL entry draft. The WHA Cincinnati Stingers reportedly offered him $50,000 a year for the next ten years, but Trottier elected to go with the Islanders (who selected him in the second round as the 22nd overall pick), although he played in the WCHL one further season before going to training camp in 1975 in preparation of the 1975–76 season. That year, he set an NHL rookie record of 95 points and won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year (his record was later broken by Peter Šťastný of the Quebec Nordiques in the 1980–81 season).
Trottier's best offensive season was 1978–79 when he scored 134 points, earning him the Art Ross Trophy as the league's top scorer, as well as the Hart Memorial Trophy as the most valuable player. 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 New York's 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 head coach Al Arbour nonetheless maintained that Trottier was the league's best player over Gretzky. Trottier was described as a forward possessing an all-around game including ruggedness and defensive responsibility, and there were comparisons to Milt Schmidt and Gordie Howe. 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 Islanders team, leading 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 the Colorado Rockies. Other linemates that played with Trottier included John Tonelli, Bob Bourne and Bob Nystrom. Trottier, however, 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.
In the leadup to the 1984 Canada Cup, Trottier decided to play for the United States in the tournament, having previously represented Canada in 1981, a decision that earned him boos in exhibition games held in Canada. Trottier stated, "Nothing against Canada, but I'd like to play for the U.S. and do something for the country that has been good to me." 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 the 1988–89 season, Trottier had his first season with a negative plus-minus, doing so with a season that saw him drop to 17 goals and 28 assists in 73 games for a -7 rating. He was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for his leadership on and off the ice. In the 1989–90 season, he played in just 59 games and recorded 13 goals with 11 assists. Trottier scored his 500th career goal, doing so on February 13, 1990 against the Calgary Flames in his 1,104th game as a player; he was the 15th player to reach 500 goals and the second Islander to do so after Bossy. It was his last goal as an Islander. When the Islanders were eliminated in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Trottier was benched for the final game. After that low output, on July 3, Islanders management bought out the last two years of Trottier's contract, which he remarked was a "painful" moment. 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 a strong defensive player and team leader.