Washington Capitals stars Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Braden Holtby all answered the bell. So did head coach Barry Trotz. Owner Ted Leonsis even wrote an apology to fans.
The team’s general manager, Brian MacLellan, on the other hand has been quiet after his team failed to make it out of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs yet again despite being the Presidents’ Trophy winners.
According to Capitals beat reporter Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post, MacLellan plans on speaking with reporters at some point this month but not until he administers a “thorough evaluation” of his roster and coaching staff.
With 11 pending free agents (five unrestricted, six restricted) plus upcoming expansion and entry drafts to prepare for, the next six weeks is going to be a busy and stressful time for MacLellan.
T.J. Oshie, Kevin Shattenkirk, Karl Alzner, Justin Williams and Daniel Winnik are free to walk on July 1, while RFAs Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky, Dmitry Orlov, Brett Connolly, Nate Schmidt and Philipp Grubauer need new deals—Grubauer also happens to be a likely candidate to get selected by the Vegas Golden Knights.
MacLellan’s evaluation will also look at where Trotz stands in the organization. Trotz has gone 156-63-27 in the regular season during his three years in Washington yet his players consistently underachieve in the playoffs.
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