Laviolet was appointed Capitals coach

Peter Laviolet was appointed Washington Capitals coach on Tuesday.

“I am grateful and happy to have led this hockey club,” Laviolet said. “It’s a winning company with high expectations. I look forward to coaching this amazing team of players and bringing my experience and focus to the team.”

Laviolet was replaced by Todd Rearden, who was eliminated on August 23 after being eliminated by the New York Islanders in the first round of the Eastern Conference of the Stanley Cup Playoffs 4-0 in Game 5 on 20 August. This is the second time the capitals have lost in the first round of the playoffs since finishing first in the metropolitan division each season.

Following the removal of Readerden, Capitals general manager Brian McClellan said he wanted to hire an experienced coach to get more out of the list of veterans who have the left wing. Alex Ovechkin, Who is September 17, 35 years old in the middle Nicklas Backstrom, Right wing 33 years old on November 23rd TJ Oshi, 34 years old on December 23, and Defense Man John Carlson, 31 years on January 10th.

Laviolet fits that description.

The 55-year-old has coached New York Islanders (2001-2003), Carolina Hurricanes (2003-2008), Philadelphia Flyers (2009-2013) and Nashville Predators (2014-2020) for 18 seasons, with 637- 25 ties 425-123 and 11 Times qualified for the playoffs. Laviolet won the Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006 and lost six games to Philadelphia in 2010 before losing to the Chicago Blackhawks and in 2017 to a six-game defeat to the Pittsburgh Penguins against Nashville.

Laviolett, of Franklin, Massachusetts, had 637 NHL wins, second only to John Tortorella’s 655 behind U.S.-born coaches.

“Peter is a successful NHL head coach, he won the Stanley Cup and brings a wealth of experience to our team,” said Capitals general manager Brian McClellan. “We think he’s a great communicator, he inspires our players to play with passion, structure and discipline, while at the same time helping our young players reach their potential. Make us the ideal person to lead our team to compete. “

Laviolet was eliminated after six seasons in Nashville on January 6 and was replaced by John Hines after the Predators went 19-15-7 in their first 41 games this season.

Nashville was 248-143-60 in 451 regular-season games under Laviolet and won the President’s Trophy for the best record in the NHL in 2017-18 when he was 53-18-11 with 117 points.

During the Ovechkin era, which began when the Left entered the NHL in 2005, Capitals only hired another coach with previous NHL experience. That was in 2014 when they hired Barry Trotz, Laviolet’s ancestor, in Nashville.

Trotsky coached for four seasons in Washington and guided the capitals to the Stanley Cup in 2018, but he resigned later that season unable to accept the new contract and was hired by the islanders. Rearden, Trotsky’s associate / assistant, was promoted to his position and coached Capitals for two seasons.