Todd Reirden was groomed to replace Barry Trotz, who schooled his former understudy in this year’s playoffs. Now, Reirden is a goner.

The Washington Capitals fired Reirden as head coach Sunday after they were ousted by Trotz’s Islanders in the first round of the NHL playoffs. Reirden lasted just two years after taking over for Trotz following the Captials’ first-ever Stanley Cup win in 2018.

“We have higher expectations for our team, and we felt a fresh approach in leadership was necessary,” Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said in a statement. “We would like to thank Todd for all of his hard work and efforts with our organization. Todd has been a big part of our team for more than half a decade, including our Stanley Cup run in 2018, and we wish him and his family all the best moving forward.”

Reirden, 49, had an 89-46-16 regular-season record as Washington’s head coach, but he did not win a playoff series. The Capitals were bounced by the Hurricanes in seven games in last year’s first round. The Capitals ended up as the No. 3 seed after a round-robin seeding round to begin the NHL bubble restart and fell in five games to the Islanders, who face the Flyers in the second round.

Reirden replaced Trotz after Trotz and the Capitals couldn’t agree on a new contract following the Stanley Cup win.