Does Barry Trotz Resigning As Head Coach Of The Washington Capitals Hint That Alex Ovechkin Is Going Back To Russia?
So by now, everybody knows the big news. Barry Trotz has resigned from the Washington Capitals less than two weeks after winning the Stanley Cup. Now up until the very moment that the Caps won the Cup, I think most people just assumed this was the final year that Trotz would be coaching in Washington. The writing was on the wall for his replacement to come in and anything less than a Stanley Cup championship season would ultimately see him let go. But then the Caps won it all and it automatically kicked in a 2-year extension on his contract.
Now many people are saying that Trotz is choosing to leave Washington because that 2-year extension he received for winning the Cup is under the market value for a Stanley Cup winning head coach and he’s looking to get caps lock PAID. Which could be very true and all, but I don’t think it tells the whole story here. Barry Trotz is a hockey guy. He knows that the name on the front of the jersey means a helluva lot more than the one on the back. I feel like he’s not the guy who is going to put a couple extra million dollars in his own wallet over the team, the team, the team. So what if this isn’t a money issue at all, but actually a team issue? Could it be that Barry Trotz doesn’t want to spend two more years in Washington because there’s a very real chance that Alexander Ovechkin may not be around for them? Because this decision from Trotz as well as this quote from Vladimir Putin the other week certainly seem to make it seem like that is a very real possibility.
Vlad Putin – ”Me and Sasha (Alex Ovechkin) have very close and good relationship. He even told me that he would like to return home and continue his career here, but couldn’t do it because of his contract in NHL.”
Now it’s true that Ovi is still under contract through the 2020-21 season. But now that he’s won a Stanley Cup? Well what’s keeping him in the NHL? What’s stopping him from just retiring and heading home to play in Russia? He’s won a Stanley Cup. He’s scored over 600 goals. He’s put up over 1000 points. He was the rookie of the year. He has won the Art Ross Trophy, the Rocket Richard Trophy, the Hart Trophy. The Conn Smythe. There is nothing left in the NHL for him to win. He’s done it all. The one thing missing from his career? An Olympic Gold Medal. And with how much is unknown about the NHL’s participation in the 2022 games, maybe Ovi is ready to go home and just focus on Beijing.
