The Washington Capitals announced they have fired head coach Todd Reirden after just two years as head coach of the team after another disappointing playoff finish.
“We have higher expectations for our team, and we felt a fresh approach in leadership was necessary,” said general manager Brian MacLellan. “We would like to thank Todd for all of his hard work and efforts with our organization. Todd has been a big part of our team for more than half a decade, including our Stanley Cup run in 2018, and we wish him and his family all the best moving forward.”
The move tells a tale of two coaches and is a basic admission that the Capitals made the wrong decision two years ago. The team won the 2018 Stanley Cup Championship under Barry Trotz, with Reirden as its main assistant. However, with Trotz’ contract up, Washington had to decide whether to pay up or let Trotz walk and bring in Reirden to replace him. The team, which has hired first-year coaches in five of its last six hires, decided to go that way with Reirden as well.
Reirden’s regular season record was quite good with a 89-46-16 record in 151 games. However, the team couldn’t win in the playoffs with the team falling in the first round in 2019 to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games and then the team’s dismal performance this year against the Islanders, which included winning just one game of their round-robin matchup in the East, leaving the team facing a quality first-round matchup in New York.
So, it seemed almost fitting that Reirden’s last series was against Trotz, who was paid by the New York Islanders and the head coach has turned the inconsistent franchise around. The Islanders dominated their series with Washington and made it quite clear to the Capitals organization that they made a mistake two years ago.
The team now will have to find a new head coach and with their team aging and little time remaining for their star, Alex Ovechkin, who will be turning 35 in three weeks. The team will likely be forced to pay up and bring in a veteran coach and the team has quite a few options available to them, including Gerard Gallant, Peter Laviolette, Bruce Boudreau and Mike Babcock. If the team doesn’t want to pay that price, there are other former head coaches available as well, including Mike Yeo, John Stevens and Kirk Muller. With a win-now roster, the Capitals could be the prime job opening for those coaches.
As for Reirden, the coach is known to be an excellent special teams coach and likely will return to that role quickly as several teams will be looking to upgrade there. Reirden, who spent four years in Pittsburgh with Sidney Crosby, could be a candidate to return there considering their urgency to win next year as well. He had two years remaining on his contract with the Capitals.
They should have never let Trotz leave. Horrible decision…
Yeah I agree. It was such a stupid move for them to make
This SCREAMS from the mountain top… what we all have been screaming….. LEONSIS… don’t let Trotz leave… He made a huge mistake that all the fans were screaming about. Go save your money
Agree with the posters here; letting Trotz leave was a mistake. It kinda felt to me like Leonsis was saying “Hey, we don’t need you, this team can win with anyone behind the bench” and of course, it was a huge mistake. Even if they wanted to part ways with Trotz, you don’t bring in another rookie coach to take his place when there’s still a window here. They wasted enough of Ovie’s career doing experiments with rookie coaches. The only experienced coach led them to a Stanley Cup. The Caps haven’t played a full 60 minutes of hockey since the end of 2019. It’s unacceptable.
So, I hope they get serious and go out and get someone like Laviolette or Gallant. No more rookie experiments. Bring a guy in who knows how to coach and can sell the players on his vision.
This is one of the rare times when every single actually saw this coming the moment they made their mistake and it is not just hindsight bias. Trotz is the best in the league.
First off,I absolutely hate the Caps.
They have tripped over their feet on every step.
Their window will close with a rookie goaltender if Holtby isn’t resigned.
They can bring in someone with experience,but it’s your goalie who will win or lose you the cup.
Let Trotz leave?
They forced him out. To hire a schmoe like Reirden (nice guy, good assistant but obviously not head coaching material, pretty much anyone could see that).
Meanwhile, Trotz is cementing his HOF resume with his consistently overachieving Isles.
just wantched the U-Tree “Steamed Caps” video. ironic.
Caps were straight up suffocated in the 5v5 vs the islanders. I feel like that series alone could justify his firing. That was very frustrating to watch. I hope the best for him though.
Does everyone forget that trotz was a playoff failure, for many years. Just because You win a cup doesn’t mean u are a great coach. Bylsma for example
Just because you dont win a cup doesn’t mean that you are a “failure.”
Karma
Hiring Mike Yeo would officially put the nail in their coffin.
Aren’t Captial fans thrilled Ted Leonsis saved money by letting Trotz go???