Washington Capitals hire Spencer Carbery as their next coach
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The Washington Capitals on Tuesday named Spencer Carbery as their next head coach, tapping one of the NHL’s top rising assistants to lead the franchise back to relevance after it missed the playoffs this spring for the first time since 2014. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight After he spent two seasons as an assistant in Toronto, where last month he helped the Maple Leafs secure their first postseason series win since 2004 and positioned himself as an up-and-coming bench boss, Carbery’s hiring brought him full circle with the Capitals. He was the head coach of Washington’s American Hockey League affiliate in Hershey, Pa., from 2018 to 2021.
“It’s a tremendous honor and privilege to be named the head coach of the Washington Capitals,” Carbery said in a statement. “I would like to thank the Capitals organization for affording me the opportunity to lead this team. I look forward to working with this group of talented players and building upon the winning culture in place.”
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Carbery reportedly will receive a four-year contract. He replaces Peter Laviolette, who did not win a postseason series in his three years with the Capitals and finished with an 115-78-27 record. Washington has not won a playoff series since it claimed the Stanley Cup in 2018.
Carbery inherits a roster built around an aging core as the Capitals look to add speed and develop young players. The team is expected to shop for help this offseason, specifically for top-six forwards. There are other pressing personnel decisions to be made. The team has two assistant coach vacancies, including positions that oversee the power play and blue line. There is also a critical draft to prepare for; the Capitals own the eighth pick — their first top-10 pick in 16 years.
General Manager Brian MacLellan had looked for experience when he hired Laviolette, but this coaching search took on a different shape. MacLellan and Washington’s front office were open to younger candidates such as the 41-year-old Carbery. He isn’t much older than the team’s captain, Alex Ovechkin, who will be 38 when the 2023-24 season opens.
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While Laviolette was often criticized for favoring veterans over younger players, MacLellan is hoping Carbery can connect with some of the team’s more inexperienced players as the Capitals try to infuse one of the NHL’s oldest rosters with youth. Carbery will be responsible for shepherding that transition as Ovechkin chases Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record.
“We are extremely pleased to name Spencer as our new head coach,” MacLellan said in a statement. “Spencer is one of the best young coaches in the game who’s had success at every level at which he has coached. We feel his leadership, communication skills, ability to develop players and familiarity with our organization will be a tremendous asset as he makes this next step in his coaching career.”
Carbery already knows some players in the Capitals’ pipeline from his time in Hershey, where he was the AHL’s coach of the year for the 2020-21 season. He has history with players who have worked their way up from Hershey to the Capitals in recent seasons, including Aliaksei Protas, Alex Alexeyev and Martin Fehervary. And he has a grasp on the abilities of prospects who will be fighting for NHL spots at training camp, including Connor McMichael, Lucas Johansen and Joe Snively.
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Carbery’s familiarity with the Capitals’ system dates from 2011, when he was hired as the head coach and head of hockey operations for Hershey’s ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Stingrays, with whom he spent five years.
Carbery earned high marks as the architect of Toronto’s power play, which produced the highest scoring percentages in franchise history over the past two seasons, converting at a 26.6 percent rate in that span. He was a hot coaching candidate this offseason, reportedly garnering interest from the New York Rangers and Anaheim Ducks this month.
Washington’s power play ranked 16th this season under the direction of assistant Blaine Forsythe, who departed the franchise in April after 17 seasons. Kevin McCarthy, a longtime lieutenant under Laviolette, left the team after three years.
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The Capitals announced this spring that they would return four staffers: assistant coach Scott Allen, goaltending coach Scott Murray, assistant coach and video coach Brett Leonhardt and video coordinator Emily Engel-Natzke. All of those coaches are familiar with Carbery, a native of Victoria, B.C., because of his time in Hershey.
The pinnacle of Carbery’s professional playing career was three seasons in the ECHL before he transitioned to coaching. For years, he honed his craft behind the bench in the minor leagues before reaching the NHL as an assistant and finally Tuesday as the 20th head coach of the Capitals.
“You learn to grind it out [coaching in the minors],” he once told his hometown newspaper, the Times Colonist. “And if you treat people the right way, you can succeed in this business.”
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Source: The Washington Post
