Trotz walks from Caps
The Washington Capitals announced Monday that Barry Trotz will step down from his role as head coach and not return following the team’s Stanley Cupwinning season.
“Barry Trotz informed the organization today of his decision to resign as head coach of the Washington Capitals,” the team wrote in a statement. “We are obviously disappointed by Barry’s decision, but would like to thank Barry for all his efforts the past four years and for helping bring the Stanley Cup to Washington. Barry is a man of high character and integrity and we are grateful for his leadership and for all that he has done for our franchise.”
This was the last season of Trotz’s four-year deal, and he wasn’t offered an extension before the season, but once Washington won the Stanley Cup, an automatic two-year extension was triggered, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The reason for Trotz’s resignation likely comes down to pay. According to CapFriendly.com, Trotz was making $1.5 million per season; however, a person familiar with the situation said it was a bonus-laden contract, so the playoff success would have pushed him to more than $2 million this year. The two-year extension came with a modest raise, but the term and the salary would still not have matched some of the NHL’s other Stanley Cup-winning coaches.
Montreal Coach Claude Julien signed a five-year, $25 million contract in the middle of last season. Toronto’s Mike Babcock is the highest-paid coach, with a $6.25 million salary. Chicago’s Joel Quenneville, who has won three championships, signed a reported three-year, $18 million extension in 2016. Perhaps Trotz, the fifth-winningest coach all-time, would not have made quite as much as those three, but, barring a renegotiation, his salary for the next two years wouldn’t have been all that close either.
As the Capitals see it, Trotz and his agent negotiated this arrangement four years ago, so he’s not honouring his end of the deal. But coaches salaries have also ballooned in that time.
“After careful consideration and consultation with my family, I am officially announcing my resignation as head coach of the Washington Capitals,” Trotz said in a statement through his agent.
“When I came to Washington four years ago we had one goal in mind and that was to bring the Stanley Cup to the nation’s capital. We had an incredible run this season culminating with our players and staff achieving our goal and sharing the excitement with our fans. I would like to thank Mr. Leonsis, Dick Patrick and Brian MacLellan for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this great organization. I would also like to thank our players and staff who worked tirelessly every day to achieve our success.”
Trotz may have also felt some bitterness over how the season played out. He wasn’t extended before the season, though two coaches on his staff – associate head coach Todd Reirden and assistant Blaine Forsythe – had contracts that went past this year. Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan was extended in March, but Trotz again remained without an extension even as Washington appeared poised for a fourth straight postseason berth. He was nearly fired twice during the season, and after the organization prohibited Reirden from interviewing elsewhere last summer, there was a sense that he was a coach-in-waiting in case the team decided to move on from Trotz.
Had the Capitals failed to advance beyond the second round of the playoffs this season, the team did not plan to retain Trotz, according to a source familiar with the team’s thinking. Just days after Washington won its championship, Trotz said he was aware that a mid-season firing was possible.
“I think with my situation, I would say that all year you felt like that,” Trotz said. “But I got over that. I probably made jokes about it, but I was past that. I knew whatever happens, happens.”
Reirden is a favorite to become the Capitals’ next head coach, though he will have to go through an interview process. The belief is that Trotz plans to coach next year, and the New York Islanders, a division opponent, have a vacancy.