#Islanders’ Barry Trotz gives glimpse into NHL restart plan

Islanders coach Barry Trotz has just 13 days to evaluate his expanded training camp roster and get his players playoff ready.

Thirteen days, starting Monday with the first full-team workout in four months, to assemble a lineup to defeat the Florida Panthers in the best-of-five qualifying round. Thirteen days to shake off the rust from not skating competitively for four months. Thirteen days to put it all together.

General manager Lou Lamoriello expressed his confidence in the foundation the organization established during the hiatus, tipping his cap to Trotz for organizing a communication schedule between the coaching staff and players while everyone was away.

Trotz isn’t worried about a time crunch. He is going into camp with a plan.

“We’re going to let it play out a little bit,” Trotz said on a Zoom call Saturday afternoon. “I think you have to go in there with a plan, some of that plan is based on history. And I think there is going to be some opportunity as well for some guys who can grab a spot that maybe they’ve been injured or maybe they didn’t have the year that they thought, they can grab some ice time.

“It is preparation, playoff preparation, but there is an evaluation process for some spots as well,” he added. “Who might play with who? But we have to start with a foundation and some of that foundation is based on some history.”

Trotz is confident that the Islanders have put in the necessary work during their months apart, especially defenseman Adam Pelech and center Casey Cizikas.

Before the coronavirus pandemic suspended the regular season, the Islanders were under the impression they’d be without Pelech for the remainder of the year as he recovered from surgery on his Achilles. Cizikas was then suddenly out indefinitely after sustaining a leg laceration in February.

Now, the Islanders have an opportunity to bring a more equipped team into the playoff tournament than they would’ve had without the break.

“I think both of those guys will be just fine,” Trotz said. “I don’t see any drop-off. They’re both excited. They really missed the time that they did miss when they had their injuries. I expect that both of them will have a big impact like they usually do.”

It’s been 122 days since any NHL player has played competitively. It’s been a month since the league opened team facilities for Phase 2 voluntary small-group workouts. Trotz is hoping his team understands that the whole situation is unconventional, but that it’s time to get back to hockey.

“You just look outside and nothing that we’ve done in the last three months is predictable,” he said. “So wrap your mind around that, that it’s not normal and you better focus on what the endgame is. And the endgame is to get by the Florida Panthers and move on.

“You’re going to have to get yourself focused, ready and primed. If you can’t, then it’s going to show in your practices, it’s going to show in your performance and we’re going to go with the guys that are most ready to help us win.”