Caps coach quits after winning Stanley Cup
Less than two weeks after lifting the Stanley Cup, Barry Trotz is a free agent, and the Capitals are looking for a new coach.
Trotz stepped down as Capitals coach Monday after a contract dispute 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 Capitals accepted Trotz’s resignation after they were unable to agree on a new deal.
Winning the Cup less than two weeks ago triggered a two- year extension for Trotz that would have given him a slight bump in salary to just over $ 2 million, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team did not announce the extension.
“His representative 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. “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.”
The Maple Leafs’ Mike Babcock makes the most at $ 6.25 million on an eight- year deal. The Blackhawks’ Joel Quenneville is next at $ 6 million entering his ninth full season with the team.
If Trotz was paid among the top five, it would have put him in the $ 4 million- plus range annually— a price the Capitals have not been willing to pay for coaches.