Bryan Trottier

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.

He won four Stanley Cups with the Islanders, two with the Penguins and one as an assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche.

He shares the NHL record for points in a single period with six (four goals and two assists).

He is also one of only eight NHL players with multiple five-goal games.

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 and for the Swift Current Broncos as a junior.

Trottier claims that without his friend Tiger Williams, he would have dropped out of hockey due to homesickness.

Trottier and Tiger became best friends due to the special bond they built early on in their careers/academy.

Nicknamed "Trots," Trottier was drafted in the second round, 22nd overall, by the New York Islanders in the 1974 NHL Entry Draft, the team he played his first 15 seasons in the NHL with.

He set an NHL rookie record of 95 points and won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year in 1975–76, though the record was later broken by Peter Šťastný of the Quebec Nordiques in 1980–81.

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'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 NHL 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 New York's first Stanley Cup in 1980, he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

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 have been 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, centring his fellow stars Clark Gillies and Mike Bossy on a line known as "The Trio Grande."

In 1981–82, Trottier scored 50 goals, the highest single-season total of his career.

Undaunted by heavy criticism from fellow Canadians, Trottier chose to play for the United States in the 1984 Canada Cup tournament, after having previously represented 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 centremen, longevity was not Trottier's hallmark.

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.

Following his 13th season, his 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 a strong defensive player and team leader.

In August 2014, Trottier was announced as an assistant coach for the Buffalo Sabres.

In 2017, Trottier was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in history.

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.