The following admittedly feels like a weird thing to utter about a coach that, had he chosen to stay with the organization that was left lying to itself year after disappointing year before he helped lead them to the promised land, would have spent the entirety of his two-year extension working with a leash long enough to lightly jog circles around every single one of his peers. Still, dare I say that Barry Trotz' decision to briskly walk out from behind the bench of the Washington Capitals two weeks after they rose the Stanley Cup for the first time in the franchise's 44-year history was somewhat...relatively...easy? Sentimentality aside, scoffing at a small bump in salary (albeit contracted) that spoke volumes about the team's preferred direction as well as left him well below market value for any coach, never mind one coming off a championship, was to be...well...expected. I mean, leave it to the franchise that was previously allergic to success to only achieve it after putting a successor in place, but the truth of the matter is that the newest coach on the unemployment line just won his way into a win/win situation by choosing to lose his job. If you want a look at a man that will forever be welcomed back in Washington D.C. then look not through the hallowed halls of The White House, but rather at the neckless wonder that appeared damn near Presidential in how calm and collected he remained throughout the entirety of a title run that presented no shortage of adversity. Barry Trotz was basically Joe Cool in every single postseason press conference. You have to imagine that was due, in large part, to the acceptance that not even all the ice that was used to chill the championship champagne would have completely extinguished the heat of Todd Reirden's seemingly inevitable promotion from singeing at his ass hairs. Barry Trotz was playing with house money for the first time since his arrival in Washington, and not only will he have potentially tripled his earnings when the cards fall in regards to his future, but he'll forever have ingratiated himself into an irreproachable past in the nation's capital. Judging by their social media presence throughout the last two weeks, the Capitals might not even be sober enough to have a Stanley Cup hangover until the next All Star break. Yet, the man that has to answer to expectations that will be innately upped won't be the one that forever solidified his place amongst the limited lore of Washington sports in graciously leaving them behind. Once you reach the peak of your profession, you're typically left choosing between riding that high downward or going out on top. Due to a mutual willingness to move on, Barry Trotz gets to pick and choose the best of both those worlds. Come the time in which the possibility of an unlikely repeat is being discussed, he might very well still be enjoying an extensive vacation while watching his value gain interest on the open market. These are undeniably strange circumstances, but they are guaranteed to work out in favor of the guy that just put a ring on the 27 Dresses of sports' cities while becoming the league's most eligible bachelor. I can't say for sure what his plans are, but if Barry Trotz can stomach some time off then he could easily use this honeymoon period to prove - once and for all - that it is possible to have your cake and eat it too.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
January 2020
|