Boston Bruins

Islanders coach claims he doesn’t work officials after Bruce Cassidy fined for postgame comments

"I don’t work them, I respect them."

Islanders coach Barry Trotz says he doesn't work the officials. Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

By Tom Westerholm

1 minute to read

Barry Trotz may have been employing some gamesmanship when he noted that Bruins center Patrice Bergeron bends the rules on faceoffs, but on Tuesday, the Islanders coach said he doesn’t work the referees.

Trotz’s comments came hours after Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy was fined $25,000 for his postgame comments criticizing officials following Game 5.

“I don’t work them, I respect them,” Trotz told reporters over Zoom. “As I said, I worked the referee situation in the bubble last year, and I got ran over. I tried to call penalties, I tried to call offsides, I got hit with pucks, I got knocked over, I got all that stuff.

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“I’ve been in the league a long time. It’s a hard job, and I have a lot of respect for those guys. I lived it, I was bruised and battered after the bubble being a referee during our scrimmages.”

Cassidy told reporters after the Bruins’ 5-4 loss on Monday that the officials aren’t calling the same penalties on both teams.

“I think they sell a narrative over there that it’s more like the New York Saints and not the New York Islanders,” Cassidy said. “They play hard and they play the right way, but I feel we’re the same way. The exact calls that get called on us do not get called on them, and I don’t know why. …

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“It’s not like I’m going, ‘every call against us sucks.’ That’s not true. It’s just that at the end of the day, similar plays, they need to be penalized on those plays. But I think they’ve done a great job selling that narrative that they’re clean. They play hard, love the way they play, but they commit as many infractions as we do. Trust me. It’s just a matter of calling them.”

Trotz refused to respond to Cassidy’s comments after the game.

“I don’t know what he means by that,” Trotz said.

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