The Washington Capitals will give out their final trio of rings on Monday.
Ahead of their game against the New York Islanders, the team will present championship bling to former head coach Barry Trotz, associate coach Lane Lambert, and goaltending coach Mitch Korn.
The news was first reported by NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti.
Caps will deliver Cup rings to Barry Trotz, Lane Lambert (& Mitch Korn if he's there) at some point tomorrow.
Trotz is still in touch with some Capitals. Tom Wilson said Trotz texted to check on him during his suspension and to wish him luck the rest of way when it was over. https://t.co/YPBPCUBwmz
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) November 25, 2018
During previous road trips in Vancouver and Edmonton, the Capitals gave championship rings to former players Jay Beagle and Alex Chiasson during special pregame ceremonies in the locker room.
So far this season, the New York Islanders are off to a luck-driven 11-8-2 start, riding the highest PDO in the league (103.7) per Natural Stat Trick. Trotz is getting much of the credit from the national media, but the Islanders have been riding great goaltending from Thomas Greiss (.928 save percentage) and a league-high team shooting percentage of 10.8 percent. The Islanders have also gotten surprising early performances from Josh Bailey (21 points) and Brock Nelson (9 goals).
The Islanders, who currently sit in third place of the Metropolitan Division, could pull within one standings point of the Capitals with a win.
Trotz is trying to turn the Islanders franchise around after the team missed the Stanley Cup playoffs during their last two seasons. Over the summer, the Islanders lost John Tavares to free agency as the team’s former captain signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Beyond Travis Boyd dressing up as the coach for the team’s Halloween Party, the Capitals giving Trotz a ring will mark the first time the organization has acknowledged the Stanley Cup-winning coach since leaving over the summer, suggesting there may be some hurt feelings. The Capitals did not mention or feature Trotz during the team’s banner-raising night.
Absent from the ceremony was former coach Barry Trotz, who left the team after the championship following a dispute over an automatic option on his contract that was triggered when the Capitals won the Stanley Cup. Now the coach of the New York Islanders, Trotz wasn’t featured in the video during the ceremony nor was he mentioned by name during the event.
In an early October interview with NHL.com, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis talked about how things ended between the two sides. While Leonsis said he didn’t begrudge Trotz wanting to cash in, he was disappointed the coach reneged on a previously renegotiated clause in his contract. Leonsis could have blocked Trotz from leaving the team, but didn’t because he didn’t want to add “any negative karma or drama” to an already fraught situation.
“I live up to my contracts,” Leonsis said.
Trotz went on to sign a five-year deal with the Islanders worth at least $20 million.
