Back-to-back early playoff output was enough to make the Washington Capitals realize they had made a mistake.
In the two seasons since the team promoted top assistant Todd Reirden instead of giving Stanley Cup-winning coach Barry Trotz a raise, the Caps have been knocked out of the playoffs in the first round. On Sunday, the team fired Reirden five days after losing its first-round playoff series to Trotz’s New York Islanders in five games, and stepped down after hiring its seventh coach since Alex Ovechkin entered the NHL.
Who will they consider for that job? Where will Reirden next land? Are there any other problems with Reirden in DC? And how much remorse did they have for leaving Trotz? Let’s dive in.
Was this move a surprise?
Emily Kaplan: The fire came just three days after the capitals were eliminated from the playoffs, indicating that this was ahead. There had been rumors in recent weeks that if Washington could not pass the first round, Reirden would be done. The fact that it was a embarrassing, five-game run for the Barry Trotz-leading Islanders sealed his fate.
It is strange to quickly pivot a team to a coach. Reirden had only been on the field for two seasons, setting a record of 89-46-16. That’s usually a good enough mark to hang around, especially after a pandemic-disturbed season. What’s more: The Caps were absolutely Bullis on Reirden when they promoted him, after the ugly Trotz divorce. Reirden was the only Caps management candidate interviewed in 2018. Players campaigned for Reirden to get the job done, with continued continuity with the system, and he had the MO as strong with development.
Here’s perhaps the biggest reason it’s surprising: Honestly or not, the capitals have a reputation for being cheap when it comes to coaching contracts. They spend a fortune on players, but try to save somewhere else – look no further than the Trotz situation. So while the Caps’ spending habits will inevitably appear as we discuss hiring a next coach, also consider: Reirden still had two years left on his contract. Capital owners will pay for a new coach’s contract, on top of paying Reirden for two years not to coach. That is not unimportant. Property and management clearly felt that there was potential for the situation to spiral, which gave them urgency to intervene.
Has there been a specific short-term reason for burning out losses so early in the playoffs?
Greg Wyshynski: According to Washington GM Brian MacLellan, as far as Christmas 2019, capitals are not playing to the standards. “You could see the playing style starting to diminish,” he said. “I think we had a good culture here and it’s starting to slip. I think we need to pick it up, bring it back to where it was. We’ve developed a habit of thinking we can play well when we’re good. to play, instead of developing good habits and taking care of the games. “
When the capitals hit the hub, that tendency just got worse. MacLellan said the team lacks the structure of opponents like the Philadelphia Flyers and, yes, Trotz’s Islanders. The second-best offensive team in the NHL of the regular season was last in the postseason with an expected percentage of 1.57. The Islanders’ defense and the loss of center Nicklas Backstrom for a majority of the quarterfinals deserve some credit, but the Capitals were offensive teeth in the tournament.
What are some other changes that MacLellan will make this offseason?
Kaplan: First there is the problem of the assistant coaches. Reid Cashman was already gone when he accepted the coaching job at Dartmouth. Scott Arniel, Blake Forsythe and Scott Murray may stay, but their fate will be determined by the new coach – and new coaches have a tendency to bring in their own boys.
Goalkeeper Braden Holtby is an unlimited free agent this summer. MacLellan does not rule out a return from Holtby, but it is very clear that this team is having cap-strapped plans over Ilya Samsonov (on a contract on entry) early next season. At Holtby, MacLellan said: “It has yet to be decided. I think it will be difficult. But sometimes opportunities come up that you do not expect, and we want to play it out and see what happens.”
MacLellan said he feels good about the team’s top seven forwards (Ovechkin, Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, TJ Oshie, Tom Wilson, Jakub Vrana and Lars Eller), but knows the blue line needs work. Reirden struggled constantly this season to find defensive pairs and tried combinations that worked, and MacLellan got Brenden Dillon on the trade date for short-term help. This is what the Caps can look for to repair through free agency, or through another trade.
And lastly, here’s your friendly reminder that Ovechkin will be an unlimited free agent after the 2020-21 season. Management will discuss an expansion with Ovechkin in the coming months. It will be interesting to see if Ovechkin wants to do something long-lasting, or go year-on-year at this stage in his career as he pursues Wayne Gretzky’s goal record.
Give me an overview of the top candidates for the job, and all the options under the radar that can be considered.
Wyshynski: Despite being actually Ovechkin’s first head coach with previous NHL head coaching experience. Whoever replaces Reirden should be his second, if we are to believe what MacLellan said. “When we see our performance in the bubble in Toronto, we need a skilled coach. We need a skilled team. We need someone to come in and push some buttons on some good players,” he said. “Someone who can hold people accountable.”
There is a robust group of veteran free agent agents available. Former Nashville coach Peter Laviolette and former Vegas coach Gerard Gallant have Stanley Cup experience. So does former Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock, though he is set to earn an annual salary of $ 5.875 million from Toronto until June 2023 and has some baggage after allegations of psychological abuse were exposed to his fire. Former Flyers and Kings coach John Stevens, an assistant in Dallas, could also be on the radar. Then there is former Penguins and Sabers head coach Dan Bylsma, who has a Stanley Cup ring and has been an assistant with the Detroit Red Wings.
One wild card: Former Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau, who coached the Capitals from 2007-2012. Everyone’s a little older and wiser since his stint in Washington – is there a chance he could complete the circle with a return to DC? Backstrom, Ovechkin, John Carlson and Dmitry Orlov are the only players left on the roster of Boudreau’s last team in Washington.
If the Capitals opted for an inexperienced coach, there’s Islanders associate coach Lane Lambert, who was in Washington and now on Long Island under Trotz.
So, with the benefit of some hindsight, did the capitals make a mistake in not bringing Trotz back?
Wyshynski: You can fill out a set of 10-volume books with the amount of revisionist history written about Trotz and his departure from the capitals these days.
Please remember that within the contract that Trotz negotiated with Washington, there was a clause for an automatic two-year option with just a salary of $ 300,000 if the capitals won the Stanley Cup. When Washington finally won one in 2018, Trotz wanted to renegotiate that option. Although Washington has always been one-sided with its coaches, money was not necessarily the issue: it was the five-year term on which the capitals came up. To complete that term, Trotz would have been the head coach of the Capitals for nine total years. And it is unlikely that he would have completed that term; keep in mind that the capitals did not exactly pull in the right direction before they won the cup, as was reported here by Japers Rink. There were also whispers that Despite being able to leave the Capitals after the 2017-18 season.
(Oh, let’s just be clear: the chances of him getting any expansion with the capitals were not exactly good when owner Ted Leonsis told NHL.com after he left: “I read something that said we’re a contract dispute have, and you can “Table if you have a contract. I understand that Barry did what was in his best interest and the best interest of his family and I do not forgive that.”)
Trotz has had more success with the Islanders than the Capitals with his younger, cheaper replacement – remember the Islanders are great at a style of hockey that Trotz could never convince the Capitals to play unless we all forgot what happened when Dale Hunter coached the team.
MacLellan relied on its players to provide input on decisions. The choice to let Trotz run was thereby informed, and she influenced the decision to hire Reirden as a continuation of the previous regime. It is a demonstrable fact that the last decision was the wrong one. But considering the team’s performance outside of four incredible rounds in 2018, and considering Trotz’s contractual requirements, it’s a misjudgment that leaving Trotz was a mistake. The capitals might have been in the same position with Barry, only with another three years contract to pay instead of the two they owed Reirden.
What’s next for Reirden?
Kaplan: You’ll see Reirden again in the NHL– he was a well-respected assistant with both the Penguins and Capitals before taking this job, but it may take a while before he gets another chance as head coach. Since he will be paid for the next two seasons by the Capitals, he may be picky about his next appearance.
Look for him to take a job as an assistant in the NHL on defense, or perhaps join a college hockey staff (Reirden is a Bowling Green alumnus and began his coaching career as an assistant to the Falcons).
Grade the decision.
Kaplan: B. If the management had the conviction that Reirden was not the right person for this job, I’m glad they acted on it instead of letting it hang. The window of the capitals with this core is still open, but not too long. There was an urgency not to let this malaise through to the championship.
Wyshynski: A. The capitals thought they had the right man for the job with Reirden. He worked wonders with the Washington Defenders and had done the same in Pittsburgh. He would build on what Trotz had built. The players wanted him too. But it turns out he was not the head coach they needed him to be. In football terms, he was promoted to a coordinator to head coach who then failed to take the next step. Maybe he uses this experience and becomes a great head coach in his next stop. But for this team, it did not work at the moment. No need to wait. The core does not get younger. The mistake is to go ahead and hire one of the big names in the market to push for a cup.
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