Confirmed with Link: Trotz will not return as caps coach

[RandyHolt]

Hot Take. Reirden's Agent Will ask for 5x5!

 

[StrikingDistance]

That is the most asinine thing I have ever read. I guess that is why Mitch and company are following him to the island because they can't coach either. I wouldn't doubt if he does not sign with the Caps now..he can go anywhere and he is really in a no win situation here. All he can do is match Barry, without Barry and other staff. Sounds like a tall task.

I seriously doubt that's the craziest thing you've read here. You've been coming to this board for a while. haha

Looking back at the past 2 years, Trotz's employment was at risk for a while. In past years with a better roster, he couldn't get past the 2nd round and almost didn't get past the 1st round at least twice (Toronto and the BJs). Anyway, put me on ignore because I'm running out of ideas and booze and it's all downhill from here.

 

[tycoonheart]

Barry is at zero fault here. Mac wants his guy as the coach. There was no way around it. There was no deal for Barry. Ever. It is Reirden or bust.

Here is what I will say about Barry though - he had something no Caps coach ever had, and that was the ability to bring this team out of slumps. He did that every dang year he was with the Caps. Typically most coaches lose the locker room and get fired. But Barry had the ability to get em back together and focused. Which is probably the reason why he has been a coach for so many years. Not many have that ability.

We will see how Reirden works out. I hope he does. Players being complimentary of him is meaningless. Hell they said similar things of Oates.

Mac deserves the benefit of the doubt. He has been right about most things.

At the same time, me personally, I think Barry had a lot to do with the cup win. And none of this BS narrative that goes against it that some are trying to push will change my mind. Shame that some of you seem to buy into it tho.

 

[Empty Goal Net]

And I think they will. I don’t think 5x$5 is reasonable tho.

Definitely agree. I was going with Trotz's reported ask. First time HC, even if he was the brains behind the SC-winning outfit, I'm thinking about $2mx3 or x4 would be more than fair. More than the Trotz contract would have given him based on the 4-yo option deal.

 

[twabby]

Congrats to Barry. Dude deserves a payday and I’m in no mood to criticize his choice of team. I disagreed with him at times but god dammit he won a Cup and 2 Presidents Trophies in Washington so I’ll always fondly remember his time here.

 

[Capitals40]

I have no idea what you’re talking about. They’ve been grooming him to take over for at least a year.


And I think they will. I don’t think 5x$5 is reasonable tho.

yeehaw welcome an assistant who has know other assistants staying with him..that pretty much says it all..arrogance..total arrogance..lets fire the head coach that won the cup and 2 pres trophies b/c the assistant is a braniac..of course the head coach did the most important job ..push buttons, especially ovie's. This is a disaster. Ovie and a lot of the players had a little hate of Barry..and they won the cup.

 

[Calicaps]

yeehaw welcome an assistant who has know other assistants staying with him..that pretty much says it all..arrogance..total arrogance..lets fire the head coach that won the cup and 2 pres trophies b/c the assistant is a braniac..of course the head coach did the most important job ..push buttons, especially ovie's. This is a disaster. Ovie and a lot of the players had a little hate of Barry..and they won the cup.

Forsythe is staying.

It is not a disaster. Step away from the ledge.

 

[Calicaps]

Barry is at zero fault here. Mac wants his guy as the coach. There was no way around it. There was no deal for Barry. Ever. It is Reirden or bust.

Here is what I will say about Barry though - he had something no Caps coach ever had, and that was the ability to bring this team out of slumps. He did that every dang year he was with the Caps. Typically most coaches lose the locker room and get fired. But Barry had the ability to get em back together and focused. Which is probably the reason why he has been a coach for so many years. Not many have that ability.

We will see how Reirden works out. I hope he does. Players being complimentary of him is meaningless. Hell they said similar things of Oates.

Mac deserves the benefit of the doubt. He has been right about most things.

At the same time, me personally, I think Barry had a lot to do with the cup win. And none of this BS narrative that goes against it that some are trying to push will change my mind. Shame that some of you seem to buy into it tho.

I definitely agree with your assessment of Barry’s ability to rally the players. But I don’t agree about his deal. He had one. He decided to renege on it, and the team, possibly to their detriment, let him, no strings attached. Good for him.

As to the narrative about who was in charge, it’s speculation all around. Time will tell.

 

[Jags]

I continue to feel that this reflects way worse on Trotz than on the Caps, and those comments only make it worse IMO. He negotiated a deal that was predicated on winning a Cup and then when he won a Cup, even though it increasingly seems like he didn't even really drive the bus, the team was ready to honor that agreement and maybe even improve it, but he made a stink. I get that from his perspective, he was pissed about not driving the bus, but they were gonna let him stay on as HC, give him a raise, and possibly repeat as SC champion and he was unsatisfied.

I don't completely disagree, but I don't think it's that one-sided. They didn't give him an extension, forced him into a lame duck year with an assistant breathing over his shoulder that was absolutely going to take his job, came close to firing him outright a couple times, and all of this was glaringly obvious, which also means that it undermined his authority and was probably more than a little emasculating.

Meanwhile, all Trotz had done in 3 years was take over an undisciplined, non-playoff team and average 52 wins a year, winning a Jack Adams and 2 Presidents Trophies in the process.

To be clear, I don't really mind the way the Caps handled things, but to sit here and pretend that we don't understand why he may have felt unwanted and underappreciated seems pretty disingenuous to me. It appears that the relationship between him and the Caps was awkward at best and toxic at worst, and I don't blame him a bit for opting for a clean slate (and a whole lot more money).

I'm grateful for what he did here and wish him well, but I'm also pretty jazzed about our clean slate.

 

[Jags]

Interviewing Reirden next week?? What is he, off the grid? Maybe BMac is having a hammock snooze marathon.

I would have liked to hear Reirden named a few hours after Barry was announced, if not before. So, we are going to the draft and starting UFA chat week without 2 assistants / no head coach.

I think it's more respectful for everyone involved, Reirden included, to at least have it appear that we're going through a full hiring process with him. Even if they don't interview any other candidates, I'd rather it be understood by everyone in town that I was their well-considered choice and not just the cheaper, leftover assistant after they shitcanned the last guy.

There's no downside to waiting a few days.

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

Well, I was totally wrong about the Trotz situation. My respect for Trotz has waned a bit here. Hope he bombs in New York.

 

[Calicaps]

I don't completely disagree, but I don't think it's that one-sided. They didn't give him an extension, forced him into a lame duck year with an assistant breathing over his shoulder that was absolutely going to take his job, came close to firing him outright a couple times, and all of this was glaringly obvious, which also means that it undermined his authority and was probably more than a little emasculating.

Meanwhile, all Trotz had done in 3 years was take over an undisciplined, non-playoff team and average 52 wins a year, winning a Jack Adams and 2 Presidents Trophies in the process.

To be clear, I don't really mind the way the Caps handled things, but to sit here and pretend that we don't understand why he may have felt unwanted and underappreciated seems pretty disingenuous to me. It appears that the relationship between him and the Caps was awkward at best and toxic at worst, and I don't blame him a bit for opting for a clean slate (and a whole lot more money).

I'm grateful for what he did here and wish him well, but I'm also pretty jazzed about our clean slate.

That’s all true and fair. And I will have nothing but fond feelings for BT going forward. I also don’t begrudge him his payday. That said, I don’t think he really was negotiating in good faith either with his 5x$5 demand.

 

[Ridley Simon]

yeehaw welcome an assistant who has know other assistants staying with him..that pretty much says it all..arrogance..total arrogance..lets fire the head coach that won the cup and 2 pres trophies b/c the assistant is a braniac..of course the head coach did the most important job ..push buttons, especially ovie's. This is a disaster. Ovie and a lot of the players had a little hate of Barry..and they won the cup.

Here you go brother. Stare at this for a little while, you will feel much better.

 

[Jags]

That’s all true and fair. And I will have nothing but fond feelings for BT going forward. I also don’t begrudge him his payday. That said, I don’t think he really was negotiating in good faith either with his 5x$5 demand.

No doubt, but he really had no choice. He needed to hear them out because of the extension. I mean seriously, if I'm Trotz, the only thing that would come close to erasing the awkwardness of this year would be a big-term, high-dollar contract and full control of my staff.

Term doesn't do it because coach contracts are always terminable. Money to make it worth my while if the relationship sours again and staff control so I can eliminate the harbinger-of-death vibe that comes with knowing my replacement is right in my face every day, possibly rooting for my failure.

That's a dodgy, uncomfortable situation that isn't good for anyone, and there's really no term/money that's gonna fix it. I don't blame him a bit.

And let's also acknowledge that GMBM was just as unlikely to be negotiating in good faith. It's absolutely a two-way street. It's just as dodgy and uncomfortable for him.

 

[895]

That’s all true and fair. And I will have nothing but fond feelings for BT going forward. I also don’t begrudge him his payday. That said, I don’t think he really was negotiating in good faith either with his 5x$5 demand.

Why not? NYI pretty much accepted his 5x5 demand. Seems like it's what he really wanted.

 

[Calicaps]

Why not? NYI pretty much accepted his 5x5 demand. Seems like it's what he really wanted.

I’m sure it was. But he went to NYI as a free agent. That wasn’t his situation with the Caps.

 

[usiel]

Happy for Trotz and happy for the Caps here. We have a SC so its a bit of a forcefield on anything negative.

 

[kicksavedave]

yeehaw welcome an assistant who has know other assistants staying with him..that pretty much says it all..arrogance..total arrogance..lets fire the head coach that won the cup and 2 pres trophies b/c the assistant is a braniac..of course the head coach did the most important job ..push buttons, especially ovie's. This is a disaster. Ovie and a lot of the players had a little hate of Barry..and they won the cup.

You keep saying they fired him, but they didn't, he quit. He was under the contract that he negotiated, it gave him a raise and two more years for winning the Cup, but he wanted much more than what he was owed and so he resigned when they didn't give him 5x5.

If you're going to say they fired him, then you have to think they should have agreed to his demand of 5x5, because you're placing all the blame on the Caps. Maybe 5x5 was the right number for the Isles, but it wasn't the right number for the Caps.

 

[kicksavedave]

Here you go brother. Stare at this for a little while, you will feel much better.

View attachment 126253

I can look at that pic and all my troubles just melt away.

"The Washington Capitals are the 2018 Stanley Cup Champions."

Works every time.

 

[VaCaps Fan]

The un-Trotz play in the playoffs was most suspicious....

 

[marcel snapshot]

Feels unfair and piling on-ish to BT to like VaCaps' post above, so I'll just say he's flagged an important data point

 

[RandyHolt]

Lets delve in.

The systems - I think we got away from the 1-1-3 that we saw used early vs CBus and Pitt. Mind you, they were not used for entire games. But I think we were 1-1-3 if not 1-4 in the series winning Kuzy goal. But versus Tampa and Vegas, I don't recall seeing it - at all. Otherwise, I have no idea what we were doing out there, but it was clearly not a full on turtle.

Somehow we got a lot of odd mans, which is playing the counter game. Did we play the RW lock the entire playoffs? I'd love to think I am smart enough to see it myself, but clearly not. Maybe that was a Reirden thing, as I don't recall that in previous years.

Using young players.... let's be reality - Barry's hand was largely forced. Expansion, cap issues throughout the year. Playoffs, the injuries and Wilson suspension. The only time we he went youth over vet security was scratching Chaisson late in the playoffs.

 

[amjay13]

He sure seems upset for a guy who hadn't won a thing in the playoffs until this year .

Clearly a money grab which is fine however he's not going to win anything there so all in all this works out well for all parties especially if he helps facilitate Grubi to the Islanders .

 

[Bieronymus Trotz]

Although GMBM's apparent lack of urgency can be unsettling, the Reirden situation doesn't seem that weird. It's obvious he's the guy, pending an interview, and GMBM doesn't see a need to rush that interview because he all but knows its outcome. Making him go through that process even if it's a formality doesn't seem like the worst thing.

There was no deal for Barry. Ever. It is Reirden or bust.

Well there was a deal. He was signed to a contract that had two more years on it. Not that GMBM doesn't seem to have been happy to let him out of it.

Trotz's actions are fine. They're a little contrary to his image though. More importantly, if he didn't want to feel unwanted here, he shouldn't have failed so massively in past playoffs. His "coaching" against the Penguins in 2017 was inexcusable and he has only himself to blame for others' recognition of his failure.

 

[RandyHolt]

....

There's no downside to waiting a few days.

The only downside I see if Carlson not wanting to ink his career payday / contract under a situation of uncertainty. It sure seems like Reirden is a slam dunk, but obviously his 2 assistants are not determined, one of which will be working closely with Carlson. And even then, pushing all in on Reirden being here, is not 100% guaranteed. Barry bolted for more term/money. Who's to say Reirden isn't considering playing hardball - many here suggest other teams would fire their coaches to hire him.

I wonder what we are offering him. Typical coaches contracts are no longer typical - times are changing and Reirden is right in the middle of it all. Unfortunately, our team has a history of not spending much on coaches.