Back-to-back early playoff exits sufficed to make the Washington Capitals understand they slipped up.
In the two years considering that promoting top assistant Todd Reirden rather of giving Stanley Cup-winning coach Barry Trotz a raise, theyve been knocked out of the playoffs in the preliminary. On Sunday, the group fired Reirden days after losing a five-game series to Trotzs New York Islanders and moved towards hiring their seventh coach considering that Alex Ovechkin got in the NHL.
After Trotz coached the Capitals to their very first title in franchise history in 2018, an automated extension kicked in to keep him under contract at his current wage. NHL coaching incomes had actually ballooned between the times Trotz signed his agreement and lifted the Cup, and the company decided to let him go instead of pay him more.
Trotzs Islanders have actually reached the second round twice in 2 chances considering that veteran basic manager Lou Lamoriello employed him nearly right away after the Capitals let him resign.
Washingtons move was made in part because members of the front workplace saw Reirden as head-coaching product after a number of years as an assistant there and in Pittsburgh. He was a finalist for the Calgary Flames task in 2016 and rose to associate coach in Washington in 2017 to keep him from pursuing other tasks.
2 RelatedThe Reirden-coached Capitals made the playoffs in his 2 seasons in charge; they bowed out to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2015 and were outplayed by the Islanders this summer season. Its the very first time they stopped working to win a playoff series in successive years given that 2013 and 2014, which caused a complete regime modification.
Asked after the team was removed how confident he felt about continuing to coach the Capitals, Reirden referenced injuries that struck in the playoffs and said task security wasnt something he considers every day.
” When you do not turn up on the winning end of it, it is disappointing and you need to take a look at why that has actually happened,” Reirden stated Thursday night. “I am confident that I am a young coach that continues to improve and continues to improve and have been able to discover success in the routine season and havent had the ability to discover it in 2 entirely various circumstances in the playoffs.”
Reirden, 49, was another novice NHL head coach worked with during the Ovechkin period. Trotz was the only one with previous experience and the only coach to get Washington past the 2nd round, let alone win the Cup.
Reirden is the very first coach fired after hockeys return. 8 teams made training modifications for various factors throughout the regular season.
Considered that Ovechkin has one year left on his contract and a number of other top gamers are signed long-lasting, MacLellan is most likely to search for experience in his next coach. Among the top alternatives are Cup winners Peter Laviolette and Mike Babcock, Bruce Boudreau– who coached the Capitals from 2007 to 2011 and has worked for 2 other groups considering that– and Gerard Gallant, who got Vegas to the last in its inaugural season before losing to Washington.
