No deal, Trotz resigns as Caps coach
Less than two weeks after lifting the Stanley Cup, Barry Trotz is a free agent and the Washington Capitals are looking for a new head coach.
Trotz stepped down as Capitals coach yesterday after a contract dispute over salary and terms that leaves the newly minted Stanley Cup champions without a coach with the draft and free agency fast approaching. General manager Brian MacLellan said the team accepted Trotz’s resignation after being unable to agree on a new contract.
According to a source, winning the Cup less than two weeks ago triggered a two-year extension for Trotz that would give him a slight bump in salary to just over $2 million.
“His representative wants to take advantage of Barry’s experience and Stanley Cup win and was trying to negotiate a deal that compensates him as one of the better coaches in the league, top four or five coaches,” MacLellan said at a news conference in Arlington, Va. “I think the five-year term is probably a sticking point. You have a coach that’s been here four years, you do another five, that’s nine years. There’s not many coaches that have that lasting ability. It’s a long time and it’s a lot of money to be committing to a coach.”
Toronto’s Mike Babcock makes the most at $6.25 million on an eightyear deal, Chicago’s Joel Quenneville is next at $6 million entering his ninth season and Montreal’s Claude Julien brings in $5 million after coaching the Bruins for nine-plus seasons. All three have won the Cup.
If Trotz was paid among the top five, it would have put him in the $4 millionplus range annually, a price the Capitals have not been willing to pay for coaches.
“After careful consideration and consultation with my family, I am officially announcing my resignation,” Trotz said. “When I came to Washington four years ago we had one goal in mind . . . to bring the Stanley Cup to the nation’s capital.”
The 55-year-old Trotz went into the season with an uncertain future when ownership declined to talk about an extension last summer after backto-back Presidents’ Trophy-winning seasons that ended with second-round exits.
As part of the uneasy arrangement, associate coach Todd Reirden, who was not allowed to interview with other teams last summer, remained on staff and is considered the coach-in-waiting. Only the New York Islanders have a current coaching vacancy.
Expansion boost
Former NHL coach Dave Tippett became a senior adviser for the group looking to put an expansion team in Seattle for the 2020-21 season. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the board of governors could vote to approve a 32nd franchise in the fall.
Tragedy honors
After an April 6 bus accident killed 10 teammates and their head coach, the 10 surviving members of the Humboldt Broncos will reunite for the first time and be honored at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas tomorrow night.