- Barry Trotz wants Alex Ovechkin to enjoy his final trip to Nashville
- Trotz gets inducted into the Predators Golden Hall before Thursday’s game
- Read below for Trotz on the 2018 talk that changed Ovechkin’s playoff approach
Barry Trotz has one request for Alex Ovechkin when the Capitals roll into Nashville on Thursday. He wants the Great 8 to soak it in.
Trotz, who coached Washington to the 2018 Stanley Cup, talked about the farewell tour with NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti and said he plans to visit the Capitals before puck drop (8 p.m. ET). He’s now an advisor with the Predators.
“The one thing when I’ll see him is I want to make sure he enjoys it,” Trotz said. “There’s sort of a sadness to it because you’re leaving something that you love, but at the same time, you want to be in the moment so that you can enjoy it.”
Trotz has his own moment coming. The Predators induct him into their Golden Hall in a pregame ceremony. He coached Nashville for its first 15 seasons and served as general manager for the last three.
He was asked what the farewell tour means for Ovechkin and for the league.
“I think it will give him closure for his career, but also I think everybody nowadays, other players, young players, they want to have that one game against Alex Ovechkin,” Trotz said. “They want to shake his hand and say, ‘Thank you.’ I think that’s important.”
Ovechkin announced on Oct. 5 that this is his last NHL season. He sits at 930 career goals and has played 31 games against Nashville, with 20 goals and 12 assists. Sixteen of those games came at Bridgestone Arena, where he has 11 goals and eight assists.
Trotz also remembered how hard Ovechkin was to handle when he first came to Nashville in 2008. The 6-foot-3, 238-pound winger scored from his spot in the left circle, and the Predators had no answer for him.
The best part of Trotz’s story is the meeting that turned the 2018 season around. Washington dropped the first two games to Columbus in overtime, and the coach sat down with his captain.
Trotz told Ovechkin he shouldn’t be defined by a trophy, and then asked for a little more of the dirty work, like blocking shots. “They’re following you now, but they’ll really follow,” Trotz recalled saying. The Capitals beat the Blue Jackets in six and went on to win the Cup.
Watch Trotz explain the change on TSN:
Here’s Ovechkin and the Capitals lifting the Cup that spring:
The bond stuck. Trotz said Ovechkin would still “kick the door in and sit down” when Trotz was Nashville’s GM. Nashville is the next stop on a long goodbye that started with the opening stop in Carolina.
