China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Pay squabble prompts Trotz to call it quits with Caps
WASHINGTON — Barry Trotz abruptly stepped down as coach of the Washington Capitals on Monday after failing to agree to terms on a new contract.
His resignation leaves the newly minted Stanley Cup champions without a coach with the NHL 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 over $2 million, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Trotz and Washington could not agree on a salary that would have put him in line with other Cup-winning coaches.
Toronto’s Mike Babcock makes the most at $6.25 million. Chicago’s Joel Quenneville is next at $6 million while Montreal’s Claude Julien pockets $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 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 MacLellan declined to talk about a contract extension last summer after backto-back Presidents’ Trophywinning 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.
GM Brian MacLellan seemed to indicate that the job is Reirden’s for the taking.
“We’ll see how the talk goes with him (Reirden) and we’ll make a decision based on that,” MacLellan said.
“If it goes well, we’ll pursue Todd. And if it doesn’t, we’ll open it up a little bit.”
Trotz, meanwhile, will be an intriguing figure on the coaching market.
Only the New York Islanders have a current vacancy, though given Trotz’s success in Nashville and Washington, other teams might consider making a move to hire him.
Trotz has the fifth-most victories in NHL history and has guided a team to the playoffs in 11 of his 19 seasons. He is 762-568-60-134 overall with the Predators and Capitals, and he won 205 of his 328 regular-season games (63 percent) since taking over as Washington’s coach in 2014.
Trotz’s situation was a significant storyline throughout the Capitals’ run to a first Stanley Cup title.
Trotz had his fingerprints all over this championship, pushing all the right buttons by putting goaltender Braden Holtby back in net early in the first round and making the correct lineup decisions throughout the playoffs.
He was also a popular coach with his players, helping playoff hero Devante Smith-Pelly and others find their stride.