Capitals won't decide on re-signing Trotz, Carlson until after playoffs

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals will wait until after the Stanley Cup Playoffs before deciding whether to try to bring back coach Barry Trotz and defenseman John Carlson next season, general manager Brian MacLellan said Friday.
Trotz and Carlson each is in the final season of his contract and helped the Capitals (48-26-7) finish first in the Metropolitan Division for the third consecutive season. They play their regular-season finale against the New Jersey Devils at Capital One Arena on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, NBCSWA, MSG+, NHL.TV).

The Capitals have qualified for the playoffs in each of their four seasons under Trotz. The 55-year-old guided them through a turbulent start to this season when they were adjusting to the departures of veterans Justin Williams, Marcus Johansson, Daniel Winnik, Karl Alzner, Kevin Shattenkirk and Nate Schmidt, and dealing with the disappointment of losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Second Round for the second consecutive season after winning the Presidents' Trophy as the top finisher during the regular season.
The Capitals were 11-10-1 after 22 games; since then, they are 37-16-6.
"Barry's done a good job getting us through that first part of the season," MacLellan said. "He's handled the psyche of the team well. He's backed off and probably pushed buttons at the right time, so I think he's done a good job this year."
MacLellan said there have been no contract talks with Trotz.
"We wanted to wait to see how the year finished up total, the total year," MacLellan said.

That would include the playoffs. Despite their regular-season success under Trotz, who is 204-89-34 in four seasons in Washington, the Capitals have not advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs since making their lone Stanley Cup Final appearance in 1998.
"I think everything plays into it," MacLellan said. "Our focus now is just to win a first series. I think that's what everybody's thinking about."
Carlson, 28, would be one of the highest-profile players available if he reaches unrestricted free agency July 1. He has NHL career highs of 15 goals, 52 assists and 67 points, the most points in the League among defensemen, and leads the Capitals in average ice time at 24:49 per game.
MacLellan said the Capitals would like to re-sign Carlson but that finding enough NHL salary cap space might be an issue.
"It depends on how much money he wants," MacLellan said. "It's going to be a trade-off on do we want to create some space or what the salary level we're willing to go to and he's willing to accept."
MacLellan said trading Carlson before the 2018 NHL Trade Deadline on Feb. 26 was never a consideration because they need him to try to win the Stanley Cup.
"He's a big part of our team. He's having a great year," MacLellan said. "If I had the notion that we had no chance of signing him, I think we would've pursued (a trade). But we're trying to win a championship here. To get rid of Carlson just for the sake of 'We might not get anything for him,' I don't think that would have been the correct decision to do here."