Barry Trotz's tenure as Caps coach (RS: Healthy; Playoff: 2nd Round Exititis)

[Suds]

As somebody already said - Trotz never owns the failure. I don't listen to his burblings and assessments.

I derive no pleasure from the failure of others but we have had enough time to assess Trotz and his abilities. I hope Teddy will make adjustments.

No sense in beating a dead horse over the lost series - but - as we know, the Caps lost to a slapped-together D in game 7 of the PO's.

That alone is a fire-able offense IMHO. We already had a regular season wonder, BB and GMGM.

Some might be content with a regular season warrior. How can the Caps not continue be the laughing stock "regular season heros' PO zeros "with Barry at the helm.

 

[Langway]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-barry-trotz-included/?utm_term=.7a49f58533d4

Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan is undergoing a “thorough evaluation” of the team and doesn’t have a definitive date set for his first meeting with reporters since Washington’s second-round loss to Pittsburgh, according to a team spokesman. In the past, MacLellan has typically held his end-of-season news conference within a week of the Capitals’ last loss, and the delay prompts some speculation that a shake-up could be coming.

As a busy offseason, which figures to bring significant changes to a roster with only 11 players under contract, begins, Coach Barry Trotz’s future with the franchise will also be under consideration.

Trotz is the only coach MacLellan has worked with since he was promoted to general manager three years ago. In the days after the end of the Capitals’ season, MacLellan met with each player individually on Friday and then planned to spend time with individual members of the coaching staff this week. Ahead of those meetings, there wasn’t certainty in the organization on whether the Capitals would bring back Trotz for a fourth season.

The piece also mentions that Trotz has one more year left on his contract, further contemplating matters. Does the call then come down to whether he's done enough for an extension? If not then the timing makes sense for an up-or-down vote on his long-term fit. With Babcock, Q and others seeing a significant pay bump recently, I could see them moving on and maybe even bypass experienced hands in favor of a cheaper, risky up-and-comer.

 

[Hivemind]

Worth noting that Trotz is one of the lowest paid coaches in the league, at only $1.5M. Depending on how you interpret that it could either mean that Leonsis and crew are stingy on coaching and aren't going to want to pay him to not coach, or that they'd be willing to eat the smaller cost given the rising cost of coaching around the league.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

Worth noting that Trotz is one of the lowest paid coaches in the league, at only $1.5M. Depending on how you interpret that it could either mean that Leonsis and crew are stingy on coaching and aren't going to want to pay him to not coach, or that they'd be willing to eat the smaller cost given the rising cost of coaching around the league.

If you want to save money, fire the President of the Washington Capitals and replace him with a turnip. Then spend that savings on a real coach.

 

[CapsSkins]

Worth noting that Trotz is one of the lowest paid coaches in the league, at only $1.5M. Depending on how you interpret that it could either mean that Leonsis and crew are stingy on coaching and aren't going to want to pay him to not coach, or that they'd be willing to eat the smaller cost given the rising cost of coaching around the league.

I think it's more just who was looking for a coach and who was available that particular off-season. (Lavi already gone by the time Trotz was hired)

 

[CapsSkins]

I think Trotz is gone and we get Sutter. That has BMac's fingerprints all over it.

 

[Calicaps]

I think Trotz is gone and we get Sutter. That has BMac's fingerprints all over it.

This might also help with retaining JDub.

 

[CapsSkins]

This might also help with retaining JDub.

Yes, agreed. And not a trivial factor either IMO.

 

[hockeykicker]

 

[Langway]

Rightfully roasted. Certain teams would love to hire a coach that can implement defensive structure and stinginess in order to just make the playoffs. Trotz is sixth all-time in regular season wins and can bring a certain level of stability to an organization. Of course, he's also tied with Emile Francis for the worst playoff winning percentage all-time among coaches with more than 80 playoff games coached. Pegula should be all over him if it happens relatively soon. Bowman is not coming back at his age.

I've got to come back to the financial angle. If ownership isn't prepared to pay him market value would they let him coach through his final year anyway if they don't like other fits? Are they prepared to pay up and shift power toward a previous Cup winner like Sutter, Hartley or Bylsma? Bylsma I guess would be the most likely of the three but seems like just another ex-Pen move. Bylsma is a bit intriguing from a developmental standpoint but if they're keeping the core they probably need more of a hard-ass adversarial type.

 

[OV Rocks]

Rightfully roasted. Certain teams would love to hire a coach that can implement defensive structure and stinginess in order to just make the playoffs. Trotz is sixth all-time in regular season wins and can bring a certain level of stability to an organization. Of course, he's also tied with Emile Francis for the worst playoff winning percentage all-time among coaches with more than 80 playoff games coached. Pegula should be all over him if it happens relatively soon. Bowman is not coming back at his age.

I've got to come back to the financial angle. If ownership isn't prepared to pay him market value would they let him coach through his final year anyway if they don't like other fits? Are they prepared to pay up and shift power toward a previous Cup winner like Sutter, Hartley or Bylsma? Bylsma I guess would be the most likely of the three but seems like just another ex-Pen move. Bylsma is a bit intriguing from a developmental standpoint but if they're keeping the core they probably need more of a hard-ass adversarial type.

Development stand point?!?!?! He has had some decent young players in Buffalo and done nothing with them. He was gifted a job with a young Sidney Crosby, a young Evgeni Malkin, and Marc Andre Fleury. He ran Team USA into the ground in the Olympics in an embarrassing fashion.


That man can't come near this organization.

I wouldn't touch Sutter either. This team is not and will never be a defense first team. Play to the strengths which is offense. A good coach plays to the strengths of the players and puts the player in the best chance to succeed

 

[txpd]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-barry-trotz-included/?utm_term=.7a49f58533d4

The piece also mentions that Trotz has one more year left on his contract, further contemplating matters. Does the call then come down to whether he's done enough for an extension? If not then the timing makes sense for an up-or-down vote on his long-term fit. With Babcock, Q and others seeing a significant pay bump recently, I could see them moving on and maybe even bypass experienced hands in favor of a cheaper, risky up-and-comer.

Typically teams don't let coaches and gm's run into the final year of their contract because lame duck or desperate is never a good thing. So, either they extend Trotz or move on. I expect that Trotz has coached his last game with the Caps.

These decisions need to be made quickly because many ufa players will want to know who the coach is before resigning. Ufa players cant get a contract offer if the GM situation is unsettled.

 

[Langway]

Development stand point?!?!?! He has had some decent young players in Buffalo and done nothing with them. He was gifted a job with a young Sidney Crosby, a young Evgeni Malkin, and Marc Andre Fleury. He ran Team USA into the ground in the Olympics in an embarrassing fashion.

It's admittedly a stretch. He did some things well tactically at times over the years but Buffalo was kind of a mess and I'm not sure he's adjusted well enough to where the league is headed. That's kind of the problem with each of the available coaches that have won before.

Sutter is the closest to being adequate in terms of demeanor and tactics but that also for me tends to make him a lot less likely to take the job. I'd wonder a bit about quality chances vs. volume and whether there's enough grind on the roster but the later needs to be addressed regardless. It's not enough of an issue to warrant keeping Orpik but part of the focus in UFA should be improving forward depth and grit on the cheap. I wouldn't want to block the Hershey options entirely but they're going to need healthy competition.

 

[hockeykicker]

 

[hockeyfan88]

Japers Rink and their crusade to defend Ovechkin from the Canadian Press.

**** gets old.

 

[txpd]

Yea, but paying attention a little, Dale Hunter was never returning and didn't want to leave the family business. It had nothing to do with the players. It also seems to me that Ovechkin was moved to the 3rd line because he couldn't keep up with the leg injuries.

 

[Caps8112]

Yea, but paying attention a little, Dale Hunter was never returning and didn't want to leave the family business. It had nothing to do with the players. It also seems to me that Ovechkin was moved to the 3rd line because he couldn't keep up with the leg injuries.

ovi interview i read early, he said the demotion didnt have to do with injuries. think its on espn.com

http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/...-alex-ovechkin-says-no-need-offseason-surgery

Ovechkin was moved to the third line midway through the Penguins series but said that had nothing to do with the injuries.

 

[OV Rocks]

So when the Caps hire Trotz all of the Nashville fans said you'll love him, great guy, will be the presence that you need, and all that good stuff. They were right.

Sadly they were also spot on with their knowledge that he cannot develop young talent. Take a minute to look at this teams young talent under Trotz, he didn't even give guys a chance and the ones he did were never in a good spot to succeed.

Let the boys play

Outside the box picks for coach:

Guy Gadowsky- Penn State
Troy Mann- Hershey Bears
Alan May- God's Gift To Man

 

[artilector]

So when the Caps hire Trotz all of the Nashville fans said you'll love him, great guy, will be the presence that you need, and all that good stuff. They were right.

Sadly they were also spot on with their knowledge that he cannot develop young talent. Take a minute to look at this teams young talent under Trotz, he didn't even give guys a chance and the ones he did were never in a good spot to succeed.

Let the boys play

Outside the box picks for coach:

Guy Gadowsky- Penn State
Troy Mann- Hershey Bears
Alan May- God's Gift To Man

What BS.

At most one can say that young players may take longer to develop under Trotz. But his gradual approach actually seems to work pretty damn well, because he is also patient and does not give up on players. After going through it, Kuz & Orlov are doing quite well. Wilson's progress under Trotz has been near exemplary -- much credit to Wilson himself, ofc. Bura and Schmidt are on track. Who exactly has failed to develop??

I see plenty of issues that can make firing Trotz at least justifiable, but "failure to develop young talent" sure as hell wouldn't be one of them.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I found these two interesting....

Incredibly, Barry Trotz’s future isn’t secure. (One GM, hearing that, texted, “This league is a joke if [that’s] real.”


This tells me winning the President's Trophy and making the playoffs carries significant weight in the NHL. I think Trotz returns unless they can land a name they love.

This one bothers me....

A goalie coach from another club said he noticed that Holtby has a slight “hitch” on his glove hand that the Penguins were able to exploit early in their series. If you watch the glove-side goals Pittsburgh scored in the first two games, Holtby “pulls” his hand towards his body before going where he really wants to go. When those kinds of shooters get time to exploit it, they can.

How does our staff not correct that in the regular season? He was struggling to hold onto shots the whole series...

 

[OV Rocks]

What BS.

At most one can say that young players may take longer to develop under Trotz. But his gradual approach actually seems to work pretty damn well, because he is also patient and does not give up on players. After going through it, Kuz & Orlov are doing quite well. Wilson's progress under Trotz has been near exemplary -- much credit to Wilson himself, ofc. Bura and Schmidt are on track. Who exactly has failed to develop??

I see plenty of issues that can make firing Trotz at least justifiable, but "failure to develop young talent" sure as hell wouldn't be one of them.

The only young player that wasn't on the roster when Trotz took over is Brett Connolly. There was no push to develop any young players up from the AHL, ZERO

 

[artilector]

I found these two interesting....

Incredibly, Barry Trotz’s future isn’t secure. (One GM, hearing that, texted, “This league is a joke if [that’s] real.â€


This tells me winning the President's Trophy and making the playoffs carries significant weight in the NHL. I think Trotz returns unless they can land a name they love.

This one bothers me....

A goalie coach from another club said he noticed that Holtby has a slight “hitch†on his glove hand that the Penguins were able to exploit early in their series. If you watch the glove-side goals Pittsburgh scored in the first two games, Holtby “pulls†his hand towards his body before going where he really wants to go. When those kinds of shooters get time to exploit it, they can.

How does our staff not correct that in the regular season? He was struggling to hold onto shots the whole series...

"Fortunately", Caps' discrepancy between great regular seasons and chronic playoff impotence has reached such epic levels, that even a failure-tolerant guy like Leonsis is probably feeling significant heat to deliver something other than "getting to playoffs".

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Who's the heat coming from? Not the fans that continue to fill the building....

 

[artilector]

Who's the heat coming from? Not the fans that continue to fill the building....

Are we reducing everything to money now?

If Leonsis really only worried about money, there was no need to fire a guy like Boudreau in the first place, whose teams were the definition of regular season success & entertainment.

Even if he was only worried about money now, he'd still be aware of the risks of a stagnating "product".

As an aside, why the hell is he attending Caps' games, if it's enough to read the bottom line on a spreadsheet?

Finally, from a pure ego standpoint, few rich successful dudes want to be associated with something recognized as a big failure -- even if the money is good.

I'm sure Leonsis has a healthy desire to win -- just doesn't really know how.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Ted's a businessman. I think $ and a sustainable/profitable business is his first priority. So I guess yeah, ultimately the bottom line matters most.

McPhee wasn't canned until some significant ticket cancellations occurred....loss of season ticket holder confidence. Maybe the timing was coincidental, but I suspect Ted weighs fan happiness in renewal %'s to a large extent.


Not saying he doesn't want to win championships, he's clearly a fan and enjoys living the persona of sports nice guy he's built for himself, but I don't think that's (winning it all) the 1st priority.