If there’s one guy in the Washington Capitals locker room that knows a thing about new coach Barry Trotz, it’s Joel Ward.
Ward played for Trotz in Nashville for three seasons before signing with the Capitals in 2011. As Alex Prewitt of The Washington Post shared, he’s looking forward to playing for his old coach and teaching his teammates a few of his tricks.
“I think now I’ve got to tell some guys a few things,” Ward said, laughing, even though he already had. “It’s definitely been a good relationship in the past and hopefully keep that going. Definitely I can always teach a few guys some of the tendencies and some of the things that we’ve done back in Nashville that I’m sure he’ll carry over.”
Ward established himself in Nashville under Trotz and was a playoff hero for the Predators in the 2010-11 postseason when he scored seven goals and had 13 points in 12 games. That performance paid off with a four-year, $12 million deal to play for Washington.
The main guy he’ll probably want to chat with is Alex Ovechkin as there’s already people wondering how those two will get along. As it is, Trotz has already warned that some guys may not be big fans of how he does things.