Back-to-back early playoff exits were enough to make the Capitals realize they made a mistake.
In the two years since promoting top assistant Todd Reirden instead of giving Stanley Cup-winning coach Barry Trotz a raise, they've been knocked out of the playoffs in the first round. On Sunday, the team fired Reirden days after losing a five-game series to Trotz's Islanders and moved toward hiring their seventh coach since Alex Ovechkin entered the NHL.