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Capitals fire coach Todd Reirden

By Rick Massimo

The Washington Capitals announced on Sunday that they have fired head coach Todd Reirden after his second season with the team.

“We have higher expectations for our team, and we felt a fresh approach in leadership was necessary,” vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan said in a statement. “We would like to thank Todd for all of his hard work and efforts with our organization. Todd has been a big part of our team for more than half a decade, including our Stanley Cup run in 2018, and we wish him and his family all the best moving forward.” Reirden led the club to a 89-46-16 record in his two seasons. Reirden was an assistant on the Capitals when they won the Stanley Cup at the end of the 2017-2018 season. Two weeks later, Reirden was promoted after Trotz left the team over contract negotiations. The Caps’ season ended Thursday as they lost to the New York Islanders — Trotz’s new team — in the first round of the playoffs.

Report: Capitals, Penguins to be in the same division after all

By J.J. Regan
Report: Caps, Penguins to be in the same division after all originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonWith the border between the United States and Canada closed to all non-essential travel, we are going to see new divisions this year so all seven Canadian teams can play one another. This means reshuffling the American teams as well. On Wednesday, Pierre LeBrun reported the latest realignment outline for the league.Download and subscribe to the Capitals Talk PodcastThe division alignment would suggest teams would only play within the division, but this has not been formally announced.A previous report had the Pittsburgh Penguins separated from the Caps and the Philadelphia Flyers, but it appears sanity won out. For the NHL to split two major rivalries at a time when the league is desperate to generate interest and revenue would be foolish. There was no perfect realignment, but the NHL should not prioritize Columbus-Pittsburgh and Washington-Carolina over Washington-Pittsburgh and Philadelphia-Pittsburgh.The next question is how will the playoffs look? There is a clear East and a clear West division, but the Canadian division will span across the continent and the central division includes teams from both the Eastern and Western Conferences. It's less obvious what two divisions would group together. If the NHL keeps its divisional playoff format, who will play whom in the conference finals?
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