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Washington Capitals will keep Barry Trotz as head coach

By Dave Stevenson

Apr 23, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz speaks to the media following their series victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs in game six of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. The Capitals beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 23, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz speaks to the media following their series victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs in game six of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. The Capitals beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Washington Capitals will keep Barry Trotz as their head coach. 

Ever since Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan decided to postpone his end of the season press conference, there has been a lot of speculation. Most of it revolves around the future of Capitals head coach Barry Trotz. With one year left on his contract, MacLellan had to make a decision.

Should he keep Trotz for another season, give him an extension or fire him? The Caps will be retaining the services of their head coach through next season. At this time, Trotz has not been given an extension.

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Since joining the Capitals, they have won consecutive President Trophies as the team with the best regular season record. Very few NHL teams have been able to accomplish this feat. Trotz also engineered a return to the postseason in 2014-15 after the team missed the playoffs in 2013-14. However, the Capitals have also had three consecutive second round exits under his tutelage.

Trotz won the 2015-16 Jack Adams Award as the best head coach in the NHL after leading the Caps to a league best 56-18-8 record, good for 120 points. He’s the third coach in Capitals history to win the award, following Bryan Murray and Bruce Boudreau. Trotz has led Washington to a 246-156-63 record during the regular season, good for a .634 winning percentage. Under his guidance, the Caps have three consecutive seasons with at least 100 points.

With one year left on Trotz’s contract, the Capitals will most likely give him an extension to avoid an awkward lame duck situation. It wouldn’t be right to fail to address his future before next season. The St. Louis Blues and Ken Hitchcock failed to do so before the 2016-17 season and it nearly cost them a playoff spot.

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Be sure to stay tuned to Stars And Sticks, as we’ll have updates throughout the press conference. Whatever the fallout may be, we’ll have it covered.

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