Todd Reirden was brought in to replace Barry Trotz, who taught his former understudy in this year’s playoffs. Well, Reirden is a goner.
The Washington Capitals fired Reirden as head coach Sunday after being ousted by Trotz’s Islanders in the first round of the NHL playoffs. Reirden lasted just two years after taking over for Trotz after the Captials’ first win in the Stanley Cup in 2018.
“We have higher expectations for our team, and we felt a fresh approach to leadership was needed,” Capitals chief executive Brian MacLellan said in a statement. “We want to thank Todd for all his hard work and efforts with our organization. Todd has been a big part of our team for over half a decade, including our Stanley Cup run in 2018, and we wish him and his family all the best for the future. ”
Reirden, 49, had an 89-46-16 regular season record as head coach of Washington, but he did not win a playoff series. The capitals were tied by the Hurricanes in seven games in the first round of last year. The capitals ended as the no. 3-seed to a round-robin-seeded round to start the NHL bubble restart and fell in five games to the Islanders, who faced the Flyers in the second round.
Reirden replaced Trotz after Trotz and the Capitals could not agree on a new contract after winning the Stanley Cup.
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