The Washington Capitals have wasted little time in making their review of the season public with the firing of head coach Todd Reirden.
Reirden, who was only the 18th head coach in the history of the franchise, took over duties behind the bench when Barry Trotz, who won the team their only Stanley Cup in 2018, left the side shortly after.
However after just two years the team’s General Manager has announced they have parted ways leaving the franchise on the look out for another head coach.
It was the Stanley Cup Playoffs first round defeat to Barry Trotz’s own New York Islanders which was the final straw for the powers that be at the Capital One Arena. Washington looked void of ideas at times during the series leading to a 4-1 series defeat, losing 4-0 in game 5. It marked the second successive first round failure for both Reirden and the Capitals after they lost by 4 games to 3 to Carolina in 2019.
A short statement on the team’s website broke the news:
“The Washington Capitals have relieved head coach Todd Reirden of his coaching duties, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.
“We have higher expectations for our team, and we felt a fresh approach in leadership was necessary,” said MacLellan. “We would like to thank Todd for all of his hard work and efforts with our organization. Todd has been a big part of our team for more than half a decade, including our Stanley Cup run in 2018, and we wish him and his family all the best moving forward.”
Reirden, 49, was the 18th head coach in franchise history and led the club to a 89-46-16 record from 2018-20.”
It leaves the job open for a team who, more than likely, will face another rebuilding job during the few weeks left before the 2020-2021 season gets underway.
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