CHANGE IN WASHINGTON

Trotz and the Capitals couldn’t come to terms on a raise, leading to Stanley Cup-winning coach resigning,

Barry Trotz abruptly stepped down as coach of the Washington Capitals on Monday after failing to agree to terms on a new contract, leaving the newly-minted Stanley Cup champions without a coach with the draft coming up later this week and free agency opening next month.

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 more than $2 million (U.S.), a person with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team did not announce the extension. Trotz and the team could not agree on an annual salary that would have put him in line with other Cupwinning coaches. Toronto’s Mike Babcock makes the most at $6.25 million, Chicago’s Joel Quenneville is next at $6 million and Montreal’s Claude Julien brings in $5 million.

“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 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.”

In a statement, the team thanked Trotz for the past four years and said it was grateful for his leadership and accomplishments.

The 55-year-old Trotz went into the season with an uncertain future after ownership and general manager Brian MacLellan declined to talk about a contract 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 was considered the coach-in-waiting. Reirden is now the leading candidate to replace Trotz, who will be an intriguing figure on the coaching market.

Only the New York Islanders have a coaching vacancy. Trotz has the fifthmost victories (762) in NHL history and has guided a team to the playoffs in 11 of his 19 seasons.