The problem is.... If we give Trotz a new contract we will lose Rierden who has been groomed for the job.
And there's the question.
The Caps were completely transparent in their attempts to have it all ways. Keep Trotz around to coach through his contract, keep Rierden around by refusing to let other teams talk to him about a head coaching position, don't extend Trotz this year to see what happens with the team. OK, now they won the Cup. Do you give Trotz an extension now and let go of Rierden, which is the only fair thing to do? Or do you say "Thanks for the primo job, Barry, but we're going to head into a new future with Rierden."? And you have to make the decision in the VERY near future, because otherwise, Trotz could sign with someone else at any time. And if he isn't resigned, the new coach (presumably Rierden) would need time to hire his staff and get them up to speed.
Do you give the reward for winning the Cup and perhaps forego the future leadership you really want to have? Or do you not? How would the players think about losing the coach who just led them to the Promised Land? Talk about a tough administrative decision .....
And I think there is a related wild card in all of this. Now that the Capitals have won the Cup, how will Ovie and the rest react? Will they really gear up to try to repeat next year, or will Ovie figure "I got it, my essential work is done."? I could see the latter happening, AND I could see Ovie retiring from the NHL after his current contract is up. Why? Because it ends 3 years from now, which just happens to be the last year before the next Winter Olympics. I could see Ovie, who was not at all happy about not being able to play in the Olympics this winter, bolting to Russia to give that venue one last shot at age 36. He certainly knows that, one way or another, that WOULD be his Olympic swan song.
