List of Washington Capitals head coaches

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Bruce Boudreau was the head coach of the Capitals from 2007 through 2011. Bruce Boudreau Capitals Coach (cropped).jpg
Bruce Boudreau was the head coach of the Capitals from 2007 through 2011.

The Washington Capitals are an American professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals play in the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Hockey League (NHL). The team joined the NHL in 1974 as an expansion team and won their first Eastern Conference championship in 1998. The Capitals have played their home games at the Capital One Arena, formerly known as the MCI Center and Verizon Center, since 1997. [1] The Capitals are owned by Ted Leonsis, and Brian MacLellan is their general manager. [2]

Contents

There have been 18  head coaches for the Capitals franchise. The franchise's first head coach was Jim Anderson, who coached for less than a season. Bryan Murray is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached (672), the most regular-season game wins (343), the most regular-season points (769), the most playoff games coached (53), and the most playoff-game wins (24). Murray's brother, Terry, has also coached the Capitals, right after his brother Bryan. [3] [4] Roger Crozier, who only coached one game for the Capitals, is the franchise's all-time leader for the least regular-season game points (0). Ron Wilson won the Prince of Wales Trophy with the Capitals, but lost the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings. [5] [6] Bryan Murray, Bruce Boudreau and Barry Trotz are the only Capitals coaches to have won the Jack Adams Award. [7] None of the Capitals coaches have been elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder. Anderson, Danny Belisle, Gary Green, Crozier, Glen Hanlon, Dale Hunter and Adam Oates have spent their entire NHL head coaching careers with the Capitals. [8]

Dale Hunter, who replaced Boudreau on November 28, 2011, resigned on May 14, 2012, citing personal reasons. Adam Oates was named the Capitals' 16th head coach on June 26, 2012. [9] After having missed the playoffs for the second time in seven years, the Washington Capitals hired former Nashville Predators coach Barry Trotz on May 26, 2014. [10] Trotz resigned as head coach in June 2018, after winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in the franchise's history. Later that same month, the team promoted Todd Reirden, a Capitals assistant coach since 2014, to the head coaching position.

Key

#Number of coaches [a]
GCGames coached
WWins = 2 points
LLosses = 0 points
TTies = 1 point
OT Overtime/shootout losses = 1 point [b]
PTS Points
*Spent entire NHL coaching career with the Capitals

Coaches

Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2021–22 NHL season.

#NameTerm [c] Regular seasonPlayoffsAchievementsReference
GCWLT/OTPTSGCWLWin%
1 Jim Anderson* 1974–1975 54445513 [11]
2 Red Sullivan 1975 1821604 [12]
3 Milt Schmidt 19751975 44534515 [13]
4 Tom McVie 19751978 2044912233131 [14]
5 Danny Belisle* 19781979 9628511773 [15]
6 Gary Green* 19791981 157507829129 [16]
7 Roger Crozier* 1981 10100 [17]
8 Bryan Murray 19811990 67234324683769532429.453 Jack Adams Award (1984) [7] [18]
9 Terry Murray 19901994 32516313428354391821.462 [19]
10 Jim Schoenfeld 19941997 24911310234260241014.417 [20]
11 Ron Wilson 19972002 41019215959443321517.469 [21]
12 Bruce Cassidy 20022003 110474716110624.333 [22]
13 Glen Hanlon* 20032007 2397812239195 [23]
14 Bruce Boudreau 20072011 3292018840442371720.459 Presidents' Trophy (2010)
Jack Adams Award (2008) [7]
[24]
15 Dale Hunter* 2011–2012 6030237671477.500 [25]
16 Adam Oates 20122014 130654817147734.429 [26]
17 Barry Trotz 20142018 3282058934444633627.571 Stanley Cup champions (2018)
Presidents' Trophy (2016, 2017)
Jack Adams Award (2016)
[27]
18 Todd Reirden* 20182020 15189461619415510.333 [28]
19 Peter Laviolette 20202023 1388041171771138.273 [29]
20 Spencer Carbery* 2023–present

Notes

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References

General
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