https://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/Trotz-leaves-Caps-over-contract-dispute-13005538.php
Trotz leaves Caps over contract dispute
Stanley Cup-winning coach wanted five-year deal and team declined
Published 10:08 pm, Monday, June 18, 2018
Less than two weeks after lifting the Stanley Cup, Barry Trotz is a free agent and the Washington Capitals are looking for a coach.
Trotz stepped down as Capitals coach on Monday after a contract dispute over salary and term that leaves the newly minted Stanley Cup champions without a coach with the draft and free agency fast approaching. General manager Brian MacLellan said the Capitals accepted Trotz's resignation after they were unable to agree on terms on a new contract.
Winning the Cup triggered a two-year extension for Trotz that would have given him a slight bump in salary to just over $2 million, a source said.
"His representative wants to take advantage of Barry's experience and Stanley Cup win and was trying to negotiate a deal that compensates him as one of the better coaches in the league, top four or five coaches," MacLellan said. "I think the five-year term is probably a sticking point. You have a coach that's been here four years, you do another five, that's nine years. There's not many coaches that have that lasting ability. It's a long time and it's a lot of money to be committing to a coach."
Toronto's Mike Babcock makes the most at $6.25 million on an eight-year deal after coaching Detroit for 10 seasons, Chicago's Joel Quenneville is next at $6 million entering his ninth full season with the Blackhawks and Montreal's Claude Julien brings in $5 million after coaching Boston for nine-plus seasons. All three have won the Cup like Trotz, including Quenneville three times.
If Trotz was paid among the top five, it would have put him in the $4 million-plus range annually — a price the Capitals have not been willing to pay for coaches.
"After careful consideration and consultation with my family, I am officially announcing my resignation," Trotz said. "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."
The 55-year-old Trotz went into the season with an uncertain future after ownership and MacLellan declined to talk about a contract extension last summer after back-to-back Presidents' Trophy-winning seasons that ended with second-round exits.
As part of the uneasy arrangement, associate coach Todd Reirden — who was not allowed to interview with other teams last summer — remained on staff and was considered the coach-in-waiting. Reirden is now the leading candidate to take over for the defending champions.
"Todd's a good candidate for it," MacLellan said. "We're going to start with Todd here, and we've been grooming him to be a head coach. "
Only the New York Islanders have a current coaching vacancy, though given Trotz's success in Nashville and Washington, other teams might consider making a move to hire him. Trotz has the fifth-most victories in NHL history and has guided a team to the playoffs in 11 of his 19 seasons. He is 762-568-60-134 overall with the Predators and Capitals, and he won 205 of his 328 regular-season games since taking over as Washington's coach in 2014.
Trotz was a popular coach with his players, helping playoff hero Devante Smith-Pelly and others find their stride.
