Less than two weeks after the Washington Capitals won the first Stanley Cup in the franchise's history, Barry Trotz has resigned from his role as head coach. This marks just the fifth time in the past 40 years that a coach did not return to his team the season after winning the National Hockey League's championship.
"Barry Trotz informed the organization today of his decision to resign as head coach of the Washington Capitals," the team wrote in a statement. "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."
Though the NHL often churns through head coaches at a dizzying rate — the league has seen 34 in-season changes since the start of the 2009-10 season — it is extremely rare for the title-winning coach to break from his team. The last time a team did not retain its head coach after winning a championship was 2002, when the legendary Scotty Bowman retired after winning the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings. Bowman previously left the Montreal Canadiens in 1979 to become coach and general manager of the Buffalo Sabres. In 1994, Mike Keenan won the Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers and then announced a month later he was a free agent because of a breach in contract by the Rangers. Bob Johnson of the Pittsburgh Penguins died of brain cancer in 1991 after winning the title.
[The Capitals turn from bitter disappointment to a Stanley Cup]
The resignation by Trotz ends a strange year-long saga between the Capitals and their coach. Trotz, the NHL's fifth-winningest coach all time, received no contract extension before the start of the 2017-18 season, entering the last of a four-year deal as a lame duck. Lacking security despite compiling the league's best regular-season record each of the two previous seasons, he spent the past year in limbo and was nearly fired twice during the season.
Winning the Stanley Cup, however, triggered a clause in Trotz's contract that gave him an automatic two-year extension, according to a person familiar with the situation. The extension included a modest raise on what NHL salary-tracking database CapFriendly.com lists as a $1.5 million annual salary. Incentives in the contract pushed that figure closer to $2 million due to the playoff success this past season. That still left Trotz far from the ranks of the league's highest-paid coaches, and compared to other Stanley Cup-winning coaches, Trotz would have been undercompensated.
Montreal Canadiens Coach Claude Julien signed a five-year, $25 million contract in the middle of last season. Toronto's Mike Babcock is the highest-paid coach, with a $6.25 million annual salary. Chicago's Joel Quenneville, who has won three championships, signed a reported three-year, $18 million extension in 2016. Like Trotz, all three men have won at least one Stanley Cup, and while coaching salaries have ballooned thanks to those deals, Trotz and his agent negotiated this arrangement four years ago under a much different payscale.
After Trotz won the Stanley Cup earlier this month, he expressed interest in returning and General Manager Brian MacLellan said that if Trotz wanted to be back, he would be back. Ultimately, the financial differences led to his resignation.
Internal friction may have also played a role. The Capitals made the unusual move of having two members of Trotz's coaching staff — associate head coach Todd Reirden and assistant Blaine Forsythe — under contract for 2018-19. Many in the sport interpreted the move as essentially securing Reirden as an in-house replacement for Trotz, should the team need to make a change during or after the season. Had Washington not advanced past the second round of the playoffs for a fourth straight year, Trotz would not have been retained, according to a person familiar with the team's thinking.
Just days after Washington won its championship, Trotz admitted he was aware a midseason firing was possible.
"I think with my situation, I would say that all year you felt like that," Trotz said on June 9. "But I got over that. I probably made jokes about it, but I was past that. I knew whatever happens happens."
[What you need to know about the Capitals' Stanley Cup DVD]
The absence of an extension while the two assistants were locked in for the following season created friction within the staff. When Trotz was asked if he would want to keep his coaching staff intact should he return as head coach, he cryptically said he and MacLellan had "some issues to work through." Adding to the tension was an extension given to MacLellan in March and the optics of Trotz not receiving one at the same time, even as Washington was poised for a fourth straight postseason berth.
"After careful consideration and consultation with my family, I am officially announcing my resignation as head coach of the Washington Capitals," Trotz said in a statement through his agent. "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 [Capitals owner Ted] 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."
After the Capitals won their first-round playoff series against the Blue Jackets, Trotz was shown on camera shaking hands with Columbus Coach John Tortorella, and Sportsnet reporter Elliotte Friedman, reading Trotz's lips, suggested that Trotz told Tortorella, "I'm gone. I'm not coming back." Trotz later denied that.
Trotz is believed to be interested in coaching next season, and the only current vacancy is with the New York Islanders, a divisional opponent. During Trotz's four years with the Capitals, he guided Washington to two Presidents' Trophies as the league's best regular-season team, along with three Metropolitan Division titles and, finally, a Stanley Cup.
Reirden is a favorite to become Washington's next head coach, groomed for the role over the past two seasons, but he will have to go through a formal interview process. Assistant coach Lane Lambert had followed Trotz from Nashville, as did director of goaltending Mitch Korn, and it's doubtful either of them will return.
MacLellan will meet with reporters at 6 p.m.
This story will be updated.
Read more on the Capitals:
How the Capitals could handle each of their pending free agents
Capitals are smashing online sales records for Stanley Cup championship gear
I was sick. D.C. sports helped me push through.
'I love all these people here': Jakub Vrana's star continued to rise at Capitals' parade
Capitals' T.J. Oshie can now ride Metro with a commemorative Stanley Cup SmarTrip card
Alex Ovechkin — captain, husband, expectant father — reaches hockey's summit
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar