Frontrunner emerges in Barry Trotz sweepstakes.

From the very moment that the New York Islanders made the surprising announcement that they had fired head coach Barry Trotz, I had a very good feeling that Trotz would be among the hottest commodities in the offseason. That thought was however misguided, as it would appear that Trotz is such a hot commodity that teams in the National Hockey League are not willing to wait for the offseason to arrive.

Recently National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that a large number of teams were interested in hiring Trotz, both as a head coach and in some cases in some type managerial role. 

"I think Barry Trotz has a lot to choose from here," said Friedman on the NHL Network. "There's Winnipeg, I still think Vegas is going to talk to him, and I still wouldn't be surprised if Detroit and Chicago were among the teams that talk to him, and there's also the possibility now of a team like Dallas. I think he's got a lot of leverage, I think he's going to call his shot."

That would appear to be a veritable buffet of options for Trotz to choose from, but according to Friedman there may already be a clear frontrunner in the Barry Trotz sweepstakes. 

"There were reports that he was going to interview in Philadelphia today, those were premature," said Friedman. "He did not interview there today but he is going to interview with the Flyers and I do think the Flyers are very serious about Barry Trotz."

The NHL insider also revealed that the Philadelphia Flyers have moved very quickly and have already set up an interview with Barry Trotz, with the insider adding that there may be one hell of an offer on the table from the Flyers as well. Friedman also pointed to the fact that the Flyers tend not to miss when they go this hard after a particular target.

"As history has proven, if the Flyers are very serious about someone it's not often they don't get their individual," said Friedman. "I wonder if it's gonna come down to, like Marlon Brando in the Godfather, they are going to make him an offer that he can't refuse."

There was one very interesting wrinkle mentioned by Friedman on the NHL Network during this segment, the insider also hinted at the possibility of Trotz moving into management following his most recent coaching stint with the Islanders. In this instance, the Nashville Predators were specifically mentioned as a potential destination.

"If he wants to go into management now I think there is a possibility that could be Nashville," said Friedman. 

Friedman went out of his way to point out that Trotz would in no way be viewed as a potential replacement for current Nashville Predators head coach John Hynes, pointing out that Hynes was recently extended by the Predators with a new contract, and it appears that the possibility of Trotz moving away from coaching behind the bench and into a management position is at least a possibility.