Capitals Fire Todd Reirden After Another Early Postseason Exit

WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals have relieved head coach Todd Reirden of his coaching duties after just two seasons at the helm. The announcement came Sunday morning from GM Brian MacLellan.

The Washington Capitals have relieved head coach Todd Reirden of his coaching duties, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.https://t.co/vBpfQ8acbe

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) August 23, 2020

“We have higher expectations for our team, and we felt a fresh approach in leadership was necessary. 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,” Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said in his statement on Sunday.”

Statement from Capitals senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan pic.twitter.com/SBCKSHUpQg

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) August 23, 2020

In Reirden’s two seasons as head coach, the Capitals lost in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs both times.. After taking a 2-0 series lead against the Carolina Hurricanes last playoffs, Reirden’s team went 1-8 over their last 9 playoff games, dropping Reirden’s playoff record to 3-9 and zero series wins. In this season’s early exit, the Capitals scored only 8 goals in 5 games and no one besides Alex Ovechkin scored an even strength goal.

The irony is that Reirden’s short tenure at the helm of the Washington squad was ended by the very man who preceded him and the only coach to bring the Stanley Cup to the nation’s capitol, Barry Trotz, and his New York Islanders.

Capitals Fire Todd Reirden After Another Early Postseason Exit  was originally published on theteam980.com