It’s rare to see a coach depart from a team immediately after winning the Stanley Cup, or any championship in sports, but Barry Trotz did just that after he turned down a two-year extension in his contract triggered by his Stanley Cup championship with the Washington Capitals.
The extension came with a raise of $300,000, but even with the raise in mind, Trotz would only have been making $1.8 million, which is rather low by today’s standards. So, he signed on as the coach of the New York Islanders, reportedly for five years worth $4 million or more annually.
There is no resentment between Trotz and his former team. In his return to the PNC Arena in Washington on Friday, the Capitals played a video tribute for Trotz, and he received a standing ovation from the crowd.
While the relationship between Trotz and the Capitals may have ended abruptly, it’s hard to imagine that there could’ve been any bitterness there after the coach delivered the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.
Believe it or not, however, Trotz didn’t think that he would get a video tribute. He coached the Capitals for four seasons, which seemed to him too short of a tenure to really merit the tribute. (But, a ring is a ring!)
