Washington Capitals hire Barry Trotz as head coach, promote Brian MacLellan to GM

There was a lot of disappointment in the nation’s capital this year when it came to the game of hockey and that led to some pretty serious changes this offseason. The Caps cleaned house and have now found a new head coach and general manager to lead the team into the future and hopefully to a Stanley Cup win.

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That’s a lot to ask for, but the Caps believe that Barry Trotz is the man for the job as they hired him as their head coach on Monday afternoon. In addition to hiring Trotz, the Capitals also promoted Brian MacLellan to the role of the team’s general manager.

Trotz was the second longest tenured professional head coach in North American sports when he was fired by the Nashville Predators following the end of this past season and it hasn’t taken him long to find a new job. He took the Preds to the playoffs seven times since becoming the coach there before the 1998-99 NHL season and stuck with the team through thick and thin.

He has never mad it out of the second round of the postseason though, and his struggles to get the to Stanley Cup reflect those of the Capitals who have been hunting for a win for years.

The pairing may bring success though as we’ve seen fired head coaches flip to new teams quickly and the have success in the recent past and the Caps are hoping the same happens with Trotz.