The New York Rangers could have waited for Barry Trotz and signed him as their new coach, but instead went with David Quinn. Here’s why they made the right choice.
The hockey world was shocked when the Washington Capitals let Barry Trotz escape from their grasp. It was only the seventh time in post-expansion NHL history that a coach who just won the Stanley Cup left his job. Three of those seven did it to retire.
Trotz had a two year extension built into his contract if he won the Cup, but for a nominal increase ($300k). The word is that there was negotiation on an extension, but the Caps resisted the term he was seeking.
Did the New York Rangers err by passing on him so be could sign with the Islanders?
Knowing Trotz’s lame duck status, the Rangers could have waited for the playoffs to end and pursued him. After all, he is acknowledged to be one of the best coaches out there. Or is he? Considering his post-season record, he may actually be the most overrated coach in the NHL.
It’s clear that Washington was fully prepared to move on if the Caps were eliminated early in the playoffs again.
Even after winning the Cup, the team was not willing to budge on a long term contract. You just don’t see that happening in the NHL, yet Capitals general manager Brian McLellan was willing to bite the bullet and let him go.
About Barry Trotz
Barry Trotz was very popular with his players. Look at these quotes from Braden Holtby in the Detroit News:
"“He shows he cares and he treats everyone with respect, and I think that filters down through the organization. In our locker room, he brings an extreme amount of preparation. Our team’s about getting good possession, going the other way. That’s usually the best defense: Playing in the other zone. He’s not a sit-back-and-trap-and-play-defense type coach. But he definitely holds you accountable, defensively, and that’s probably his greatest strength that way.”"
Trotz is also very popular with the media. Approachable and quotable, his relationship with the press has helped his reputation as an overall “good guy” that translates into being a great coach. But let’s look at his record.
There is no denying that he is a pretty good regular season coach. He lasted 15 seasons with the Nashville Predators. Discounting the first five years of the franchise, his record over 10 years was solid, finishing second in the Central Division five times and making seven playoff appearances.
After missing the playoffs for two straight seasons, he was fired by Nashville and snached up by the Capitals. He led Washington to four 100-point seasons and two Presidents Trophies. Yet, the Capitals allowed him to enter his last year as coach as a lame duck. Why?
It’s all about the playoffs
Where Trotz has a stellar regular season record, until this season his playoff record was pretty lousy. He coached ten Nashville and Washington teams into the post season and never got past the second round.
Until 2018 his overall record in the playoffs was 39-40. Even worse was his record in elimination games. He coached 15 games where a win would would have staved off elimination and won five of them.
His record in series clinching games is also mediocre. In 11 games that would have clinched a series, his team won five times.
Compare that to the much maligned Alain Vigneault, another coach with a great regular season reputation who has yet to win the big prize. Vigneault has made the playoffs 11 times with Vancouver and New York.
His teams got past the second round three times including two trips to the Finals. In elimination games, Vigneault is 13-11 and in series clinching games, he is 11-11.
While a coach is only as good as his players, it’s clear that Trotz didn’t have what it took to motivate his players to win the most crucial games they played.
What about this season?
Okay, so this was the year that Trotz coached the Washington Capitals to the Stanley Cup championship.
There’s no denying that they were one double overtime goal from falling into an 0-3 hole to Columbus. It’s likely that Caps upper management actually anticipated an early exit from the playoffs and were as surprised as the rest of the hockey world when they went all the way.
While Trotz did make one big roster move that impacted the playoffs, replacing Philip Grubauer with Braden Holtby, he was also the beneficiary of a driven Alexander Ovechkin, an outstanding Evgeny Kuznetzov and playoff heroes Devante Smith-Pelley and Lars Eller. Frankly, the Washington roster has an array of talent (and has had for years) that a Ranger fan can only envy.
Better off with David Quinn
So, the Rangers rebuild with a smart, young coach who can relate to a youthful roster. David Quinn was hired because the Rangers knew that the next several years will feature a youth movement and they will need a coach who can develop young talent.
It will be interesting to see how Trotz does with a underachieving Islanders team, especially if John Tavares signs elsewhere.
Next: Rangers are playing the long game
Quinn is a far better choice for the Rangers than a veteran coach who was looking for a big payday and is resting on his laurels after finally succeeding in the playoffs for the first time in 11 years.