Ovechkin, Capitals set to face Trotz for first time with Islanders

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Barry Trotz will always be the first to coach the Washington Capitals to the Stanley Cup.

That didn't change on June 18, when Trotz resigned 11 days after the Capitals won their first championship since entering the NHL in 1974. And it won't change regardless of what happens when Trotz's new team, the New York Islanders, hosts the Capitals at Barclays Center on Monday (7 p.m. ET; SN, MSG+, NBCSWA+, NHL.TV).
"What he did with us, we won, that's the most important thing," Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin said. "We won the Cup and he was a big part of it."
\[RELATED: Trotz proud of coaching Capitals to Cup, wants to do same with Islanders\]
The last time most of the Capitals saw Trotz they were saying goodbye for the offseason, never expecting it would be their last conversation with him as their coach. When they see him Monday, they'll bring his Stanley Cup ring.
Trotz, associate Lane Lambert and director of goaltending Mitch Korn, who each followed Trotz to New York, will be the last to receive their rings.
"I think any guy from that team that we won with, 10, 20, 30, 40 years from now, it's going be fun to go back and see those guys," Capitals forward Tom Wilson said. "We're always going to share a special bond, so it will be fun to see those guys."
Facing Trotz for the first time since he left will no doubt bring some mixed emotions for the Capitals (13-7-3). After a sluggish start, they've found their groove under new coach Todd Reirden, who was an assistant and associate under Trotz the past four seasons, winning five in a row to move into first place in the Metropolitan Division.
But they've noticed that Trotz is making a difference with the Islanders, who are 11-8-2 after missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs the past two seasons and losing their captain and best player, John Tavares, to the Toronto Maple Leafs through free agency.
"He's the type of guy who brought commitment and energy and accountability every day no matter what the point in the season," Capitals goalie Braden Holtby said. "I think that's why we had so much success under him. And you can tell by the success they're having already with a team that wasn't supposed to have any, he brings the best out of everyone."
The Capitals were basking in the afterglow of the celebration following their championship-clinching 4-3 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on June 7 and their Cup parade down Constitution Ave. on June 12 when they heard Trotz had resigned after being unable to agree to a new contract. He became the coach of the Islanders three days later.

"That's the business side of things," Holtby said. "There's a lot that went into it. I just know that I appreciate everything he did for us and for myself. That will never get unrecognized even with the business side of things. He did a lot for us."
It culminated with the Capitals winning the Stanley Cup, but Trotz's impact went beyond that. When Trotz was hired on May 26, 2014, he took over a Capitals team that went 38-30-14 and missed the playoffs in 2013-14.
Washington went 205-89-34 and made the playoffs in each of its four seasons under Trotz. The Capitals finished in first place in the Metropolitan Division in each of his last three seasons and won the Presidents' Trophy in 2015-16 and 2016-17.
After being eliminated in the Eastern Conference Second Round in each of Trotz's first three seasons, they finally got over the hump last season by defeating the rival Pittsburgh Penguins in six games in the second round and didn't stop until they were skating around with the Cup in Las Vegas.
"From the time he got here, he really put his due diligence into our team and helped us achieve our goal that we were starving for," defenseman John Carlson said. "As a team, he brought a lot of core values that we grew into and grew from."
The players appreciated that winning the Cup last season was as much of a breakthrough for Trotz as it was for them. He coached 19 seasons in the NHL, with the Nashville Predators and Washington, and won 762 games before finally getting his name on the Cup.
"You see a lot of guys go through a long career like that and don't win," Holtby said. "I think it made it a lot sweeter for him that it took so long and took so much hardship in order to accomplish it. I know we were definitely proud of him as a team."

Although Trotz has moved on, he remains in touch with some of the Capitals. Wilson said Trotz has texted him a few times this season, including to try to keep his spirits up when he was serving a 14-game suspension and to wish him luck before he returned against the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 13.
Ovechkin said he spoke with Trotz after he was hired by the Islanders and when Trotz had his day with the Cup in Dauphin, Manitoba, on Aug. 22.
"We have a very good relationship," Ovechkin said. "We respect each other a lot. We went through together bad things and good things. But the goal was to win the Cup, and we did it."