Reirden promoted to head coach
Caps hope for seemless transition with assistant; Kempný gets 4-year deal
ARLINGTON, VA. — When Barry Trotz resigned, the Washington Capitals didn’t even bother with a coaching search.
There was only one candidate, and he got the job.
Top assistant Todd Reirden will take over the Stanley Cup champion Capitals, promoted from the bench Friday in a move that allows Washington to maintain a sense of continuity. Reirden coached the defensemen the past four seasons, was a finalist for another NHL head job two years ago, earned a promotion to associate coach and played a substantial role in the first championship in franchise history.
“We feel that the time is right for Todd to lead our hockey club,” general manager Brian MacLellan said. “Based on his coaching experience, communication abilities, his approach to the game and the respect he commands in our locker room, we feel that Todd has earned this opportunity.”
MacLellan hopes promoting Reirden from within will allow the team to “transition seamlessly into next season and beyond.”
Given his four-year tenure on Trotz’s staff and the league-wide view of him as a rising star in coaching, Reirden was the only one interviewed for this job. He was hired less than two weeks after Trotz resigned and eight days after the veteran Cupwinning coach joined the New York Islanders.
The 47-year-old former defenseman coached the American Hockey League’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for parts of two seasons before serving as an NHL assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins for four years. Reirden was a finalist for the Calgary Flames’ coaching job two summers ago, but after losing out to since-fired Glen Gulutzan, he was given a raise and the associate-coach title by the Capitals.
As the assistant in charge of the defense, Reirden had a hand in the development of John Carlson, Matt Niskanen and Dmitry Orlov.
“I thought he was crucial for my career and just changed kind of a few things how I looked at the game, changed a few things with the ‘D’ that I think really benefited everyone on ‘D’ and made it pretty clear Capitals assistant coach Todd Reirden, talking with players during a timeout in the Stanley Cup playoffs, was elevated to the head coaching position Friday in Washington. The 47-year-old former defenseman also was an assistant with the Penguins for four years. what he expected of us and allowed us to go out there and do the rest,” Carlson said after signing a $64 million, eight-year contract to stick around.
MacLellan said last week that this was Reirden’s job to lose.
“He’s got history there and he’s ready to try it as a head coach, and he’s been successful with our defensemen,” he said. “I think he can handle the personalities in our room.”
Reirden takes over a defending champion led by captain and playoff Most Valuable Player Alex Ovechkin, who was motivated by Trotz to adapt his game at age 32. He is the first assistant to take over for a Cup-winning coach the next season since Dave Lewis replaced the retired Scotty Bowman with the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 and the first to follow a champion coach who left in a contract dispute since Colin Campbell replaced Mike Keenan with the New York Rangers in 1994.
Reirden describes his coaching personality as a mix of those he has worked with in the past — the honesty of Joel Quenneville and the systems skills of Todd McLellan and Todd Richards. He drew rave reviews from Capitals trade-deadline acquisition Michal Kempný, who credited Reirden with putting together an effective plan that contributed to a key part of the Cup run.
“He get my belief in myself back, and I really appreciate [him] for it because when I came here, I didn’t believe in myself,” Kempny said.
Current and past players praise Reirden for his ability to not only strategize but also communicate. As the NHL moves away from taskmasters behind the bench, Reirden fits the mold of a modern coach.
“I think he did a great job taking everybody for being different people and seeing things different ways,” Carlson said. “I just think he seemed to connect with everyone’s different personalities. I think he makes you look at the game a little bit differently.”
Even the forwards who didn’t deal with Reirden on a one-on-one basis got an idea of his benefits to the team.
“In the room and in practice, he’s always giving little tips to everyone,” right wing Devante Smith-Pelly said. “I think he taught me just a lot of little things, positional-wise, and things like that maybe other coaches never taught me. He did [an] amazing job, obviously, with the defense and a big part of the whole run. So I think he’ll do a great job and definitely help us defend the Cup.” Kempný signed: Kempný re-signed with the Capitals for $10 million over four years. The team announced the deal Friday. Washington picked up Kempny from the Chicago Blackhawks at the trade deadline for a 2018 third-round draft pick.
He was helpful during the Capitals’ postseason run to their first title, getting two goals and three assists while averaging more than 171⁄ minutes per game as a top-four defenseman.
The 27-year-old from the Czech Republic is the latest in a series of players to remain with Washington this offseason instead of joining a new team. That includes Carlson, their top defenseman, and Smith-Pelly, a surprise hero in their Cup run.