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The Washington Capitals announced on Monday afternoon that head coach Barry Trotz has resigned after four seasons at the helm.
Full statement from the team:
Barry Trotz informed the organization today of his decision to resign as head coach of the Washington Capitals. We are obviously disappointed by Barry’s decision, but would like to thank Barry for all his efforts the past four years and for helping bring the Stanley Cup to Washington. Barry is a man of high character and integrity and we are grateful for his leadership and for all that he has done for our franchise.
Trotz’s statement, via his agent, Gil Scott:
After careful consideration and consultation with my family, I am officially announcing my resignation as Head Coach of the Washington Capitals. 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. I would like to thank Mr. Leonsis, Dick Patrick and Brian MacLellan for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this great organization. I would also like to thank our players and staff who worked tirelessly every day to achieve our success.
Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the full story on Trotz’s contract situation coming into this season wasn’t as clear as originally thought:
We had believed Trotz was a free agent this summer. That’s not correct. There was a two-year extension if he won the Cup in WASH. But, as coaches’ contracts have exploded in value, it was below the current market. Both sides tried to negotiate an extension....
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 18, 2018
But they could not come to terms. Trotz is now a free agent, as WASH will grant permission to other teams who want to talk to him. 3/3
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 18, 2018
More from TSN’s Pierre LeBrun:
Point of clarification on the Trotz contract: as per the clause in his contract, winning the Stanley Cup automatically triggered the two-year extension with the modest raise so really, he had no choice but to step down unless he was happy with that extension and terms.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 18, 2018
And from The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan:
The Caps view of this is basically that he agreed to this and negotiated this arrangement four years ago, so he's not honoring his end of the deal.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) June 18, 2018
It stands to reason that Caps associate head coach Todd Reirden, who is in charge of the team’s defense, is the prohibitive favorite to replace Trotz, 55, behind the bench. Washington did not allow teams to interview Reirden, 46, for their respective head coaching positions last offseason.
Stay with Japers’ Rink for more to come on this breaking story.