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Caps GM MacLellan thoroughly evaluating team, including Trotz

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Brian MacLellan will let us know when he's ready to talk.

The Washington Capitals general manager is undergoing a "thorough evaluation" of his team after its third straight second-round exit from the playoffs - each after a 100-or-more-points season, and twice at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins - writes The Washington Post's Isabelle Khurshudyan.

Said evaluation includes the future of head coach Barry Trotz, who has been behind the bench since 2014-15, and whose contract includes one more season. MacLellan got the GM job in May 2014, making Trotz the only Capitals head coach he knows.

Khurshudyan writes that MacLellan had season-ending interviews with players Friday, and is meeting with each member of the coaching staff this week.

It'll be a week Wednesday since the Capitals were eliminated, turning in a dud at home in Game 7, a 2-0 loss. Another Presidents' Trophy-winning season down the drain, just like that. Washington remains unable to make it to the third round in the Alex Ovechkin era, which is remarkable.

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Change is on the way. T.J. Oshie, Justin Williams, Daniel Winnik, Karl Alzner, and Kevin Shattenkirk are all unrestricted free agents. Shattenkirk was a rental, acquired stealthily by McLellan ahead of the trade deadline, as the Caps went all in on their team.

It's hard to argue Trotz is the issue. This season, Washington ranked first in goals against, third in goals for, third on the power play, and seventh on the penalty kill.

However, those results didn't translate into the playoffs. Washington didn't play tight defense, and Braden Holtby suffered as a result. The Caps' playoff run ended with the team sporting a .904 save percentage, lowest among all clubs that advanced to the second round.

Like Ovechkin, Trotz has never made it past the second round in his lengthy coaching career, as Khurshudyan writes. The 54-year-old has a 20-19 record in the postseason with the Capitals, and is a career 39-50 in the playoffs.

Trotz won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year last season. But in Washington, the first 82 games don't really matter much anymore. Only the ones that come after do.

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