Barry Trotz is leaving Washington per Friedman.

[TheDoldrums]

I think if he's not hired in the next couple of days, he's probably going to take some time and wait for a different job. I assume the Islanders would want him in place before the draft.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

It wasn't an offer. Trotz signed that contract years ago.

Trotz decided to walk away.

Yeah but they could have negotiated a new deal. This isn't just Trotz walking, it's Washington also saying 'Thanks for your service and the cup but were not paying you Babcock bucks', too.

 

[DickSmehlik]

I respect Trotz but I wouldn't lose much sleep if I was a Caps fan.

He suddenly didn't become a better coach this year, his 19th in the league, and lead the Caps to their first Cup.

They won because of secondary scoring, better goaltending and Ovi being Ovi. I am not sure Trotz had a lot to do with any of those.

 

[BallardEra]

Yeah but they could have negotiated a new deal. This isn't just Trotz walking, it's Washington also saying 'Thanks for your service and the cup but were not paying you Babcock bucks', too.

Yep but it takes two to tango. If Caps were firm on 2-3 years and Trotz firm on 5 years then it's pretty obvious what happened.

 

[illpucks]

I mean good for him. If he has another 2nd round exit he wouldn't be making 3 million. Now he's going to get 5*5.

 

[Butch 19]

I wonder if it's possible to overstate just how massive a PR blunder this is for Washington, particularly if they have a disappointing season. They let a huge piece of their puzzle (perhaps the most important piece) walk because they are just too cheap. Fans should be outraged.

What kind of message does this send to anybody else looking to join the coaching and front office staff. As soon as you're successful, we'll let you go and hire someone with far less experience and a much less impressive resume to save a few bucks.

How much does the NHL make from each playoff game? I assume they take a cut, but I would guess the majority of tix sales would stay with the home team....?

So, the Caps played 3 SCF home games: at $250 per tix, that winds up being around $13 - 15m. Throw in the tix sales from rounds 2 and 3, .... you get the picture.

Leonsis couldn't throw in a few more million bucks to get his coach up to $5m per for maybe, what, 3 years?? Even 5 years seems doable when you look at 44 years with no Cups.

As a Kings fan, if they had let Sutter walk (for any reason - **** contracts!) after the 2012 Cup, I would be livid!

 

[Crosbyfan]

How many teams spend to the Cap or close to it?
How many of those are trying to upgrade their Head Coach, and believe Trotz could be the guy that can do it?
That is the market that might make a substantial bid for his services IMO.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Lots of non Caps fans commenting while not knowing the whole story.

It seems pretty simple to me. Caps don't want to pay him what he wants to be paid....

 

[Midnight Judges]

It seems pretty simple to me. Caps don't want to pay him what he wants to be paid....

You are illustrating my point exactly. What you are suggesting is too dumb to be true.

If it is all about $$$, and if Trotz is the key to the Capitals having won the cup, then paying $5M a year pales in comparison to the revenues he would have brought in.

The most likely scenario - based on what we know today - is that the Caps do NOT think Trotz was the key to success, and that Rierden was the true mastermind.

 

[Hivemind]

I don't view it as an "either/or" between Reirden or money being the crucial factor. It was like a combination of both, and some other factors. The money played a role, but the presence of Reirden gave the Capitals considerable leverage to walk away from Trotz's demands. The money (and term) likely also served as a proxy for the position of Trotz relative to Reirden's aspirations (you're not giving Trotz $25M to replace him with an heir apparent in 2 years).

 

[Filthy Dangles]

You are illustrating my point exactly. What you are suggesting is too dumb to be true.

If it is all about $$$, and if Trotz is the key to the Capitals having won the cup, then paying $5M a year pales in comparison to the revenues he would have brought in.

The most likely scenario - based on what we know today - is that the Caps do NOT think Trotz was the key to success, and that Rierden was the true mastermind.

Why are you making it complicated? All I said was Barry wants to get paid and the Caps don't want to pay him. Would you agree with that? As for why they don't want to pay him, I could care less.

 

[Grudy0]

How much does the NHL make from each playoff game? I assume they take a cut, but I would guess the majority of tix sales would stay with the home team....?

So, the Caps played 3 SCF home games: at $250 per tix, that winds up being around $13 - 15m. Throw in the tix sales from rounds 2 and 3, .... you get the picture.

Leonsis couldn't throw in a few more million bucks to get his coach up to $5m per for maybe, what, 3 years?? Even 5 years seems doable when you look at 44 years with no Cups.

As a Kings fan, if they had let Sutter walk (for any reason - **** contracts!) after the 2012 Cup, I would be livid!

I will start with the easy piece:

Barry Trotz was on the hot seat this year. If Trotz didn't win a Cup, he'd be a free agent as of 1 July. However, by virtue of winning a Cup, Trotz ended up with a $1.8 million per, 2-year extension. Barry Trotz wanted to renegotiate his contract to $5 million per for five years.

Barry Trotz reneged on his contract by resignation. The Capitals let him out of it, allowing him to go freely to any other team.

Todd Reirden was promoted to Associate Coach before the 2016 season, and was blocked by the Capitals from interviewing for Head Coach vacancies after the 2016-17 firings.

It sounds like there was a succession plan all along, but winning a Cup threw a monkey wrench into it all.

Regarding financials, the NHL takes 35 percent of ticket sales from playoff games. That money goes into the revenue sharing pool. However, the Caps only played 2 home games for the SCF and three home games for each of the other rounds. And none of that has anything to do with renegotiating a deal that would have seen Trotz paid by the Caps for nine years as head coach when there's a sincere belief that the succession plan was in play all along.

 

[Hank Plank]

I respect Trotz but I wouldn't lose much sleep if I was a Caps fan.

He suddenly didn't become a better coach this year, his 19th in the league, and lead the Caps to their first Cup.

They won because of secondary scoring, better goaltending and Ovi being Ovi. I am not sure Trotz had a lot to do with any of those.

I thought Trotz was the best coach in the playoffs. He didn't over coach and his line selections were very effective at shutting down the other team.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

I respect Trotz but I wouldn't lose much sleep if I was a Caps fan.

He suddenly didn't become a better coach this year, his 19th in the league, and lead the Caps to their first Cup.

They won because of secondary scoring, better goaltending and Ovi being Ovi. I am not sure Trotz had a lot to do with any of those.

In the same way Quenneville didn't suddenly become a better coach his 13th year in the league and lead the Blackhawks to the Cup.

It takes a lot of things coming together at the right time. But coaching is definitely part of it.

Trotz is and has been one of the better coaches in the league for a while now and the Caps let him walk. It remains to be seen if that bites them in the ass.

 

[Sam Spade]

How much does the NHL make from each playoff game? I assume they take a cut, but I would guess the majority of tix sales would stay with the home team....?

So, the Caps played 3 SCF home games: at $250 per tix, that winds up being around $13 - 15m. Throw in the tix sales from rounds 2 and 3, .... you get the picture.

Leonsis couldn't throw in a few more million bucks to get his coach up to $5m per for maybe, what, 3 years?? Even 5 years seems doable when you look at 44 years with no Cups.

As a Kings fan, if they had let Sutter walk (for any reason - **** contracts!) after the 2012 Cup, I would be livid!

Two things: Leonsis isn't allowed to make money? And of course if the Kings had fired Sutter after the 2012 Cup you would be livid, he had been hired like four months prior to winning the Cup he wasn't finishing year four. Just for clarity, the Caps didn't fire Trotz, Trotz resigned.

I mean Suter won two Cups in his six seasons there and got fired because they had Stevens waiting, it is what it is.

 

[BallardEra]

At the end of the day hockey is nothing more than a business. Fans get emotionally attached for obvious reasons. To me this looked like a mutual parting of the ways with both sides not trying to make the other look bad.

 

[beach]

I respect Trotz but I wouldn't lose much sleep if I was a Caps fan.

He suddenly didn't become a better coach this year, his 19th in the league, and lead the Caps to their first Cup.

They won because of secondary scoring, better goaltending and Ovi being Ovi. I am not sure Trotz had a lot to do with any of those.

He has the best record in the league over the past 5 years.

 

[maacoshark]

I respect Trotz but I wouldn't lose much sleep if I was a Caps fan.

He suddenly didn't become a better coach this year, his 19th in the league, and lead the Caps to their first Cup.

They won because of secondary scoring, better goaltending and Ovi being Ovi. I am not sure Trotz had a lot to do with any of those.

Trotz did an excellent job in the playoffs.

 

[shtorm2005]

I hope he goes west.

 

[sabremike]

I hope he goes west.

... of Hunington all the way to Uniondale (and Brooklyn)

 

[CanuckGame39]

I respect Trotz but I wouldn't lose much sleep if I was a Caps fan.

He suddenly didn't become a better coach this year, his 19th in the league, and lead the Caps to their first Cup.

They won because of secondary scoring, better goaltending and Ovi being Ovi. I am not sure Trotz had a lot to do with any of those.

Blah blah blah.

And if they lost I'm sure you would be out in full force saying Trotz needs to be fired.

Trotz did his part. Give the man his props. Dont discredit him because HIS team played well.

 

[Revelation]

Way more exciting than Ovi trying to impregnate Lord Stanley.

But not nearly as exciting as the saga of your endless asspain

 

[SUBdrewgANS]

Was there ever a situation like this? I team just wins the cup and then leaves via Free Agency? I'm sure someone has retired on top, or something else happened where they didn't go into another coaching gig. This is just a bizarre situation.

 

[BallardEra]

Was there ever a situation like this? I team just wins the cup and then leaves via Free Agency? I'm sure someone has retired on top, or something else happened where they didn't go into another coaching gig. This is just a bizarre situation.

Happened with Keenan in 1994 and with Bowman in 2002.

This is really only "bizarre" if you're not a Caps fan.

 

[Grudy0]

Was there ever a situation like this? I team just wins the cup and then leaves via Free Agency? I'm sure someone has retired on top, or something else happened where they didn't go into another coaching gig. This is just a bizarre situation.

This is what's so disheartening...

There was a provision in Barry Trotz's contract - win a Cup and the contract automatically extends for two years at $1.8 million per. Instead, there was a contract renegotiation afoot, where Barry Trotz wanted instead of $1.8m per for two years, $5m per for five years.

So instead of honoring the contract, Barry Trotz resigned as he was not a free agent. Barry Trotz and the Capitals mutually terminated the contract.