Capitals part ways with two assistant coaches, retain four others
Caps part ways with two assistant coaches, retain four others originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Washington Capitals have agreed to part ways with assistant coaches Kevin McCarthy and Blaine Forsythe, general manager Brian MacLellan announced via the team on Monday.
"We want to sincerely thank Kevin and Blaine for their efforts and contributions to the Capitals during their respective tenures and wish them all the best moving forward," MacLellan said in a statement.
McCarthy, 65, has been a longtime assistant for former Capitals coach Peter Laviolette, whom the team agreed to part ways with this past Friday. McCarthy joined the Capitals staff with Laviolette in 2020 and previously coached under Laviolette in Nashville, Philadelphia, and Carolina.
Forsythe's tenure with the Capitals dates back to 2006 when he was initially hired to be the team's video coach. In 2010, Forsythe was promoted to assistant coach and remained in that role for 14 seasons under six different Washington head coaches.
"Blaine has been a dedicated member of our organization for 17 seasons and was instrumental in helping the franchise capture its first Stanley Cup in 2018," MacLellan said.
The Capitals also announced four other coaches will return to the organization next season: assistant coach Scott Allen, goaltending coach Scott Murray, assistant coach/video Brett Leonhardt and video coordinator Emily Engel-Natzke.
Allen joined the Capitals' staff last summer after spending three years coaching the Hershey Bears, Washington's AHL affiliate. Allen was the architect behind Washington's penalty kill in 2022-23, a group that ranked 11th-best in the NHL at 81.8%.
Like Allen, Engel-Natzke joined Washington's coaching staff last summer following a two-year stint in Hershey. Murray has spent seven seasons as the Capitals' goaltending coach, originally joining the staff in 2013. Leonhardt has spent 11 years with the organization, the past five as an assistant coach.
