The Washington Capitals sacked head coach Todd Reirden on Sunday, with general manager Brian MacLellan saying the team should look to an experienced driver.
The team announced the whole thing a few days after their elimination in the Eastern Conference quarter-finals against the New York Islanders. It was the second hasty elimination in a row for the club from the American capital, which had yet won the Stanley Cup in 2018 with Barry Trotz as head coach.
“We tried to maintain continuity with Todd to keep the same structure,” MacLellan told reporters on Sunday. I think it worked for a while, and as we evolved it started to slip and it didn’t work anymore. ”
“I imagine in hindsight you could say we could have brought in a more experienced guy, but I thought it was the right decision at the right time for the players and for what we had done in the circumstances. ”
Disappointing
Reirden piloted the Capitals for two seasons. He was 89-46-16. The hockey man was promoted to head coach when the Capitals and Trotz failed to come to an agreement at the end of the 2017-18 season. He had been Trotz’s deputy in the previous four campaigns.
Asked about Trotz – who is at the head of the Islanders, recent tormentors of the Capitals -, MacLellan returned to the contractual disagreement between the two parties in 2018.
“It is disappointing for us not to have come to an agreement, to a compromise during the negotiations,” he argued. We were more than willing to pay the market price. I think duration was the sticking point in these negotiations. ”
Learning from his mistakes, MacLellan said experience was going to be an important criterion in the search for the next head coach.
“I think you need an experienced coach. We have an experienced group. We need someone to push the right buttons for certain players. ”
