“I think we understand each other better.

“I think there was a little uneasiness coming in, but I think we’ve talked through everything. I don’t think there’s anything we haven’t really discussed in terms of what we need to do and why.

“We’re just starting the journey. We’re going to have some hard times; we’re going to have some good times. That’s the NHL season. It’s no different than a family. We’re starting to create a little bit of a family with our group and they’re all accountable to each other.

“Just like any family you’re not always going to be on the same page with your brothers and sisters. You still love them, but you may not agree with them all the time. We’ll have a couple of those days, but other than that we’ve made great strides.

“We have lots of work to do this year to get to where we want to be, but the foundation is there and that’s the most important thing. If you don’t have a foundation it will crumble, so we’ve been working hard on the foundation.”

-Barry Trotz, head coach of the Washington Capitals. More from Trotz by Chuck Gormley of CSNWashington.