The Flyers know the kind of coach they want, nay, NEED in order to try to turn their franchise around.

They weren’t expecting the perfect candidate to become available, but he has, now the goal is to not let him leave town without a contract.

According to multiple sources, Crossing Broad has learned that recently-fired New York Islanders coach Barry Trotz will interview with the team on Friday.

The same sources indicated that Trotz is the Flyers’ first choice to be their next coach. To steal a phrase from Phillies managing partner John Middleton, they are willing to throw “stupid money” at Trotz to get him to sign here.

This goes back to Flyers Governor Dave Scott saying that general manager Chuck Fletcher had a “blank checkbook” to turn the Flyers around, and spending big money on a proven coach would do just that.

Elliotte Friedman, from Sportsnet in Canada, first mentioned how much the Flyers were interested in Trotz in his 32 Thoughts column (See Nos. 1 and 2).

The Flyers aren’t worried that they still owe former coach Alain Vigneault $10 million to not be behind the bench any longer. I’m told they’re willing to open the vault for Trotz as they look to return to respectability in a timely manner.

Trotz, 59, was surprisingly let go by the Islanders at the conclusion of this season after missing the playoffs in an unusual season that started with a six-week road trip because the Islanders new stadium was not yet complete, included the rescheduling of 11 games due to the Covid-19 pandemic into a schedule that was already condensed in anticipation of NHL players participating in the Olympics, which didn’t happen, and the Islanders being crushed by a COVID outbreak in their locker room.

Still, New York managed to finish the season with a winning record despite missing the playoffs. One would have thought Trotz would have been given a mulligan considering those circumstances and considering he piloted the team to a berth in successive Eastern Conference Finals in the two previous seasons before losing to the two-time Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning.

However, when Lou Lamoriello is in charge, nothing should really be a surprise.

Trotz went to the Islanders after leading the Washington Capitals to their first Stanley Cup championship in 2018. Prior to coaching in Washington, Trotz was the inaugural coach of the Nashville Predators, a team he managed for 15 seasons.

Trotz interviewed on Tuesday with the Winnipeg Jets. Winnipeg is the coach’s hometown and seemed like a favorite to land him, especially with word getting out that Trotz eventually wants to move from behind the bench into the executive suite in a management role, and there would be no better place to do that but at home.

Surprisingly, he left Winnipeg without a deal. Whispers from around the league today are that going home might not have been tops on Trotz’s agenda, as many originally thought.

Trotz is also being coveted by the Vegas Golden Knights, who are looking for a coach after firing Peter DeBoer following a disappointing season in which they missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

So, the Flyers have competition. It’s important for them to obliterate that competition if they are going to fix this problem expeditiously.

Which is why they have to do anything and everything they can to not let him leave that interview without a contract.

I wrote last week why Trotz would be the ideal fit for the Flyers. 

Russ and I also talked about this recently on Snow the Goalie. 

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