from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet,
This was about money, sure. But it was about principle as well.
The Washington Capitals weren’t willing to pay Barry Trotz at a level commensurate to his peers, so the veteran head coach decided to step down just 11 days after bringing the franchise its first Stanley Cup.
It’s telling that in announcing Monday’s decision the Capitals expressed disappointment but praised Trotz: “Barry is a man of high character and integrity and we are grateful for his leadership and for all that he has done for our franchise.”
It is those same qualities that drove him to walk away. In Trotz’s mind, the team left him no other choice.
added 7:15pm, from Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post,
“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 — a top-four or five coach — so he’s looking for that type of contract,” MacLellan said Monday.
MacLellan said he was hopeful the two could agree on a “shorter-term deal,” but he said that a five-year term was a “sticking point” because that would have kept Trotz with the team for nine seasons and “there are not many coaches who have that lasting ability,” MacLellan said.
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