The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan reported today that Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan is undergoing a “thorough review” of the entire organization after yet another second-round playoff exit. Most importantly is that Barry Trotz’s tenure with the club could be in jeopardy.
Like the last two decades of Capitals teams (h/t reader Daniel Sumerlin for pointing this out), Trotz has never made it past the second round. And with the Capitals championship window slow closing, MacLellan may want to bring in new blood. Trotz will be entering his final year of a four-year contract, and whether he receives an extension will dictate how much confidence the club has in Trotz leading the team to a Finals berth.
Most notably, however, is that Trotz was never MacLellan’s guy. Both were hired by Owner Ted Leonsis and President Dick Patrick around the same time. MacLellan may want the opportunity to bring in his own coach before making drastic roster moves.
Even if Trotz remains, he’ll no doubt be on a short leash like Claude Julien and Ken Hitchcock this year. MacLellan may hold off on a coaching change given the dearth of options right now, but may make a move next season if a quality candidate arises.
Trotz is outstanding and has handled Ovechkin very well. I don’t see how the blame could be placed on Barry.
MacLellan may not blame Trotz, but he may want to move in a different direction style-wise. Trotz is obviously a very talented coach, but he has a certain style, and some GMs may want to change it up. Look at Nashville since Trotz left, or how St. Louis rebounded with Mike Yeo.
Trotz has had talented rosters and has not been able to deliver. Look at Bylsma with the Pens. Wins the cup then delivers solid records every year but never back to the finals. Trotz has never even made the finals.
Talent alone doesn’t win. You have to have guts to win. You have to have toughness & grit. The Caps don’t. They’re especially weak mentally when it comes to the Penguins. The Pens are in their heads
How many coaches are the Capitals going to fire before they realize that the problem is the players and the style of play/organizational philosophy? Sooner or later, you have to hold the players accountable. The Caps style works fine in the regular season, but they need more grit in the playoffs. Sidney Crosby isn’t the reason the Caps are losing to the Penguins. The reason the Pens beat the Caps is because their role players are better & grittier as a whole than the Caps’ role players. The Caps focus too much on offense and wide open play. It sounds like that philosophy isn’t changing. I keep hearing that they’re going to let Alzner, their best shut down defenseman, walk because they have to re-sign all these skilled forwards. If the Caps want to win in the playoffs, they’d re-sign Alzner and add grit to the lineup. Having 95% of their players being all skill hasn’t worked. Time to change your philosophy
The caps have to add grit? Tom Wilson, Justin Williams, Jay Beagle, Nate Schmidt, even TJ Oshie all played with grit. It’s the style of play, not lack of grittiness, that is holding them back.
Yes, Wilson, Williams, Beagle & Oshie have grit, but that’s not enough.They need a player like Brian Boyle as their 3rd line center, not Lars Eller. They need more toughness on their blueline. Orpik is physical, but is not a good defenseman. Schmidt is not a gritty player. I’ve watched him since he was an AHL rookie. His game is not grit or toughness. It is speed. If Oshie & Williams leave in free agency, the Caps will be even softer. They needs more guts.
They should be Ovi on the trade block and take the best offer. If he wants to win, he has to be part of the supporting cast. Not the Captain or leader. If they free up cap space by trading him, that can be used on some very good players to get them over the Pittsburgh hump.