Washington Capitals fire coach Todd Reirden after two first-round playoff exits
The Washington Capitals fired coach Todd Reirden Sunday after two seasons of first-round playoff exits.
Reirden was the top assistant to Barry Trotz when the Capitals won their lone Stanley Cup title in 2018. Trotz left the team in a contract dispute and later joined the New York Islanders. The Capitals promoted Reirden to the head coaching job.
“We have higher expectations for our team, and we felt a fresh approach in leadership was necessary,” general manager Brian MacLellan said in a statement. “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.”
In two regular seasons, Reirden had a .642 winning percentage and won two division titles, but the team wasn't able to produce playoff success.
The Capitals' Stanley Cup defense in 2019 ended in the first round when they blew a 3-2 series lead and lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in overtime in Game 7.
This season, the Capitals received a bye from the qualifying round, but they lost to Trotz's Islanders in five games.
The Capitals still have a strong core with Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, Tom Wilson, T.J. Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Now, it will be up to a new coach to get them back to the top.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Capitals' Todd Reirden fired after second first-round playoff exit
