The Washington Capitals have named Kevin McCarthy an assistant coach.
Kevin McCarthy has once again joined Peter Laviolette’s coaching staff as the Washington Capitals hired him on Wednesday to oversee the defense. McCarthy is the only other change to the coaching staff besides head coach as Scott Arniel, Blaine Forsythe and goaltending coach Scott Murray will remain with the club.
Laviolette spoke highly of McCarthy in a press release from the Caps:
"“Kevin has had a tremendous impact on my coaching career, and I’m extremely excited to have him join our coaching staff in Washington. Kevin is a high character individual who has an incredible amount of NHL experience and works relentlessly to make players better. We feel he will be a great addition to our team."
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Laviolette added this about the remaining returning coaching staff:
"“I also had an opportunity to meet with Scott Arniel, Blaine Forsythe and Scott Murray, and I’m pleased to have them return to our staff. They are all successful coaches, bring a significant amount of experience and recognize the attention to detail that creates the foundation for a successful team.”"
The 63 year old joins the Caps after spending the previous six seasons with the Nashville Predators with the first three as an assistant coach and the last three as an associate coach. McCarthy hails from Winnipeg and brings more than 30 years of professional coaching experience including assistant positions with the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes, the Philadelphia Flyers, and Nashville.
After the Caps hired Laviolette there was speculation there was going to be changes among the coaching staff or speculation that McCarthy will once again join him. At the time, McCarthy was enjoying his retirement but after strong consideration decided to come back to the game to help Laviolette with his current project in Washington.
McCarthy will replace Reid Cashman who accepted a head coaching position at Dartmouth College. It will no doubt be an upgrade as the Caps defense struggled the last two years under both Cashman and former head coach Todd Reirden.
McCarthy coached three separate teams to the Stanley Cup Finals which included the Hurricanes in 2002 and 2006, the Flyers in 2010, and the Predators in 2017, winning it in 2006 in Carolina with Laviolette at the helm.
Prior to his NHL coaching experience, McCarthy served as Philadelphia’s director of player development from 1990 to 1992. He also compiled a record of 186-153-47-14 in five seasons as a head coach in the American Hockey League which included time with the Hershey Bears from 1989-90 as well as the Springfield Falcons from 1995-97 and the New Haven Beast from 1997-99.
McCarthy and Laviolette will hope to bring their winning mentality to the Capitals who are in need of a culture change to help right the ship.