A Closer Look at the Caps’ Captain
Peter Laviolette earns his 723rd win as an NHL head coach.
Photo by Paul Chiasson
The Washington Capitals won against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, November 7th, 2022 marking Peter Laviolette’s 723rd win as a head coach. This game was a historical moment for Laviolette as it marked his passing of Alain Vigneault, previous head coach for the Montreal Canadiens, for the eighth on the list of wins in NHL history. Let’s take a closer look at Laviolette’s NHL coaching career.
This season is Laviolette’s third with the Washington Capitals but he has previously coached for the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Nashville Predators, and Philadelphia Flyers.
Laviolette began his coaching career in 1997 with the ECHL before moving to the AHL to coach for the Providence Bruins. In 1998-99, he was named the AHL coach of the year. In 2001, Laviolette coached his first NHL team, the New York Islanders.
Under Laviolette’s guidance, the New York Islanders made it into the playoffs for the first time in seven years. They came close to winning the Atlantic Division in 2001, but unfortunately lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round.
In 2003-04, Laviolette took over as head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes. During the 2006 playoffs, Laviolette led the Hurricanes to their first Stanley Cup win. At the time, he was only the fourth American-born coach to win the Stanley Cup.
In 2009 Laviolette became the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. During the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Laviolette’s Flyers became the third team in NHL history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit. The team went on to the Stanley Cup Final that year, but unfortunately lost in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks.
In 2014, the Nashville Predators hired Laviolette as their head coach. Laviolette created a lot of firsts for the team during his time as head coach. In the 2015-16 season, the Predators achieved a franchise record of a 14-game point streak, and during the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Predators became the first eight-seed team to sweep a playoff series against a top seed team. The team also reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history, and won their first Western Conference Championship during the 2017 playoffs.
In 2020, Laviolette joined the Washington Capitals franchise as head coach. The Capitals’ current record (as of Nov. 8, 2022) is 4-4-2. Although they currently sit at sixth in the Metropolitan Division, the team has been looking good under Laviolette’s guidance. This season has been trying for the Capitals with the extensive list of injured players. However, they have been able to persevere and pull off some impressive wins.
One of Laviolette’s most shocking, though maybe most successful, moves as head coach was moving veteran player Evgeny Kuznetsov off of the first line and off the first power play unit. This move was meant to motivate Kuznetsov to work harder and earn his spot back on the first line. Many fans and commentators have criticized Kuznetsov for not living up to his 2018 Cup Playoff level of play. Laviolette’s coaching technique appears to have lit a fire under No. 92 as he has currently put up eleven points in thirteen games this season.
Laviolette has a history of improving the teams he coaches for and is very experienced with bringing teams to the playoffs. It will be interesting to see if Laviolette can bring the Washington Capitals to a deep playoff run this season despite the many injuries currently plaguing the teams roster.
Sources:
“Peter Laviolette.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Oct. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Laviolette.
