Peter Laviolette

Peter Laviolette

Coaching the Philadelphia Flyers in 2012
Born (1964-12-07) December 7, 1964
Franklin, Massachusetts, U.S.
Current position Nashville Predators
Previous team(s) New York Islanders
Carolina Hurricanes
Philadelphia Flyers
Stanley Cup wins 1 (2006)
Years as NHL player 1986–1997
Years as a coach 1997–present
Years as an NHL coach 2001–present
Peter Laviolette
Born (1964-12-07) December 7, 1964
Franklin, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Left
Played for NHL
New York Rangers
AHL
Binghamton Rangers
Providence Bruins
IHL
Indianapolis Checkers
Colorado/Denver Rangers
Flint Spirits
San Diego Gulls
National team  United States
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 1986–1997

Peter Philip Laviolette Jr.[1] (born December 7, 1964) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman and current head coach of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Nashville Predators. He has previously held this position with the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, and Philadelphia Flyers. In 2006, he coached the Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup.

Early life

Laviolette was born in Franklin, Massachusetts, and attended Franklin High School.[2] He played college ice hockey at Westfield State College in Westfield, Massachusetts.[3]

Playing career

As a player, Laviolette spent the majority of his ten-year career playing for various minor league teams. He played 12 games in the NHL for the New York Rangers during the 1988–89 season. Laviolette also played for the United States in the Olympics twice (1988 and 1994). Laviolette played collegiate hockey at Westfield State College, Westfield, Massachusetts.

Coaching career

He began his coaching career as head coach of the ECHL Wheeling Nailers. In one season as coach, he led his team to a 37–24–9 record and a berth in the playoffs, wherein they lost in the third round. He left Wheeling to take over the head coaching job for the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League (AHL). In 1998–99, he coached the team to a 56–15–4 regular-season record. In the playoffs, Providence won the AHL Calder Cup Championship with a 15–4 playoff record. Laviolette was named the AHL Coach of the Year.

Laviolette's success in the AHL earned him a stint as an assistant coach for the Boston Bruins. Having grown up in the Boston suburb of Franklin, Laviolette was disappointed when he did not get the head coaching job in Boston after that season so he left for the head coaching job on Long Island. After taking over the New York Islanders, which had suffered seven years of post-season futility prior to his arrival, he led his team to the playoffs in both seasons he was there. His first season in New York resulted in a surprisingly consistent season in which the Islanders earned 96 points (42–28–8–4 record), nearly winning the Atlantic Division before losing a close playoff series to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Islanders sneaked into the playoffs the next season and then lost in five games to the Ottawa Senators in the first round.

Laviolette came to the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2003–04 season, taking over following the firing of Paul Maurice. In his first season, he coached 52 games during a rebuilding year. Laviolette led the Hurricanes to an excellent regular season during his second year at the helm, winning the Southeast Division with 112 points (52–22–8 record). He also coached the U.S. Olympic men's hockey team at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The Hurricanes won their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history during the 2006 playoffs, after winning two very close seven-game playoff series over the Buffalo Sabres and Edmonton Oilers. Laviolette was only the fourth American-born coach to win it. He was also the runner-up for the Jack Adams Award for the NHL's Coach of the Year, which was awarded to Lindy Ruff in the closest vote ever recorded for this award, 155–154.

After winning their first Stanley Cup, Laviolette's Hurricanes suffered through an injury-plagued 2006–07 season that saw the team finish with a disappointing 40–34–8 record. The next season, the team once again got off to a poor start, but held first place in a weak division for most of the season, despite having a sub-.500 record until February. The team then got hot and built what was seen as a solid lead. However, the Washington Capitals got red hot in the final weeks, Carolina lost several games down the stretch, and Laviolette's group missed the post-season.

On November 7, 2008, following his 240th victory, Laviolette moved past John Tortorella to become the most winningest American-born coach in the NHL.[4] Tortorella later eclipsed this record in 2009.

On December 3, 2008, Laviolette was fired as coach of the Hurricanes and replaced by his predecessor, Paul Maurice.[5]

Laviolette worked on the panel for the TV network TSN.

On December 4, 2009, Laviolette replaced John Stevens as the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. Barely making it into the playoffs thanks to a shootout victory over rival New York Rangers, Laviolette's Flyers became only the third ever NHL team to come back from a 3–0 series deficit, defeating the Boston Bruins 4–3 in Game 7 to reach the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals. On May 24, 2010, Laviolette led the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Finals went six games, with Chicago winning the Cup in overtime on June 9.

On April 1, 2012, in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Laviolette jawed with Penguins Head Coach Dan Bylsma after Penguin Joe Vitale hit Flyer Daniel Brière late in the game. Laviolette swung a stick against the boards which broke in half, and continued to verbally go after Bylsma and Assistant Coach Tony Granato, an American teammate of Laviolette during the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Laviolette's fiery temper and preference for intense play has turned him into a fan favorite in blue-collar Philadelphia. The HBO series 24/7: Flyers/Rangers leading up to the 2012 Winter Classic gave fans rare access to the Flyers locker room, and many of Laviolette's quotes became popular catch-phrases, such as, "We need to start playing with some jam," and, "It's about as casual as it gets." Laviolette himself acknowledged the popularity of his "jam" catch-phrase by making a video for the Flyers 2012 Fan Appreciation Game thanking Philadelphia fans for "bringing more jam than any other city in sports." For the Flyers' Game 6 Eastern Conference Quarter-final game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Flyers gave away orange shirts to all fans attending featuring an angry likeness of Laviolette and the phrase, "Time for some JAM!!"

After a 0–3 start of the 2013–14 season by the Flyers, Laviolette was fired October 7, 2013. He was replaced by Assistant Coach Craig Berube.[6]

On May 6, 2014, Laviolette was hired to become the head coach of the Nashville Predators. He replaced Barry Trotz, who served 15 years as head coach of the Predators and the only coach the franchise had seen. Laviolette and his Nashville staff were chosen to coach one of the teams in the 2015 NHL All-Star Game for having the highest points percentage in the NHL through January 8, 2015. Laviolette guided the Predators to a franchise record ninth consecutive home win with a 4–3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 4, 2015.

During the 2015-16 season, Laviolette guided the Predators to a new franchise record 14-game point streak.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1982–83 Westfield State College NCAA-2 26 3 7 10 14 — — — — —
1983–84 Westfield State College NCAA-2 25 15 14 29 52 — — — — —
1984–85 Westfield State College NCAA-2 23 13 15 28 22 — — — — —
1985–86 Westfield State College NCAA-2 19 12 8 20 44 — — — — —
1986–87 Indianapolis Checkers IHL 72 10 20 30 146 5 0 1 1 12
1987–88 U.S. National Team — 54 4 20 24 82 — — — — —
1987–88 Colorado Rangers IHL 19 2 5 7 27 9 3 5 8 7
1988–89 New York Rangers NHL 12 0 0 0 6 — — — — —
1988–89 Denver Rangers IHL 57 6 19 25 120 3 0 0 0 4
1989–90 Flint Spirits IHL 62 6 18 24 82 4 0 0 0 4
1990–91 Binghamton Rangers AHL 65 12 24 36 72 10 2 7 9 30
1991–92 Binghamton Rangers AHL 50 4 10 14 50 11 2 7 9 9
1992–93 Providence Bruins AHL 74 13 42 55 64 6 0 4 4 10
1993–94 U.S. National Team — 56 10 25 35 63 — — — — —
1993–94 San Diego Gulls IHL 17 3 4 7 20 9 3 0 3 6
1994–95 Providence Bruins AHL 65 7 23 30 84 13 2 8 10 17
1995–96 Providence Bruins AHL 72 9 17 26 53 4 1 1 2 8
1996–97 Providence Bruins AHL 41 6 8 14 40 — — — — —
NHL totals 12 0 0 0 6 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1988 United States Oly 5 0 2 2 4
1994 United States Oly 8 1 0 1 6
Senior int'l totals 13 1 2 3 10

Coaching record

Team Year Regular Season Post Season
G W L T OTL Pts Finish W L Win % Result
NYI 2001–02 82 42 28 8 4 96 2nd in Atlantic 3 4 .429 Lost in First Round (TOR)
NYI 2002–03 82 35 34 11 2 83 3rd in Atlantic 1 4 .333 Lost in First Round (OTT)
CAR 2003–04 52 20 22 6 4 (50) 3rd in Southeast — — — Did not qualify
CAR 2005–06 82 52 22 — 8 112 1st in Southeast 16 9 .640 Won Stanley Cup (EDM)
CAR 2006–07 82 40 34 — 8 88 3rd in Southeast — — — Did not qualify
CAR 2007–08 82 43 33 — 6 92 2nd in Southeast — — — Did not qualify
CAR 2008–09 25 12 11 — 2 (26) (fired) — — — —
PHI 2009–10 57 28 24 — 5 (61) 3rd in Atlantic 14 9 .609 Lost in Finals (CHI)
PHI 2010–11 82 47 23 — 12 106 1st in Atlantic 4 7 .364 Lost in Second Round (BOS)
PHI 2011–12 82 47 26 — 9 103 3rd in Atlantic 5 6 .500 Lost in Second Round (NJ)
PHI 2012–13 48 23 22 — 3 49 4th in Atlantic — — — Did not qualify
PHI 2013–14 3 0 3 — 0 0 (fired) — — — —
NSH 2014–15 82 47 25 — 10 104 2nd in Central 2 4 .333 Lost in First Round (CHI)
NSH 2015–16 82 41 27 — 14 96 4th in Central 7 7 .500 Lost in Second Round (SJ)
Total 923 477 334 25 87 1066 2 Division titles 52 50 .510 1 Stanley Cup
8 Playoff appearances

Personal life

Laviolette and his wife Kristen have three children; two sons, Peter III, Jack, and one daughter, Elisabeth.[7] The Laviolettes reside in Nashville, TN.

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ "Franklin's favorite son Peter Laviolette on wrong side of rink". The Milford Daily News. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Peter Laviolette Class of 1986". Westfield Athletics. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Laviolette makes history in Hurricanes win over Senators". TSN.ca. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  5. ↑ "Hurricanes dismiss Laviolette, bring back Maurice as coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  6. ↑ http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/24045471/report-philadelphia-flyers-have-fired-coach-peter-laviolette
  7. ↑ "Peter Laviolette Class of 1986". Westfield Athletics. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
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