Confirmed with Link: Washington Capitals Hire Peter Laviolette to be 19th Head Coach in Franchise History

[Raikkonen]

3 words I apply to Kuznetsov all the time

I thought that described Kuzy ideally but couldnt find proper English words initially. Thanks for your help, sir!

Over/under 1 year till he's traded?

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Didn’t really work out for Kevin Fiala under Laviolette.

(To be clear, Laviolette was still my preferred candidate, but I don’t think any coach is ever going to guarantee the success of young players and I think far too much has been pinned on the previous coaching staff for the development of Vrana)

I meant my comment more so in that it sounded like a dig at Rierden and the previous staff than a validation of what Lavi has done previously. Seems like everything he said was a comment on what irritated him about the last few years under Rierden.

 

[Fallschirmyager]

They're also apparently eating everything on Nashville's side, so that's surprising.

Maybe Leonsis finally is showing he understands that 5 out of 6 rookie coaches in the Ovy era was not the best choice.

 

[895]

Hmm so I recall Trotz ended up getting 5x4.5m or something from the Isles right? Basically this contract ends the same time the Trotz one would have.

Ah well, second best time to fix a mistake is right now.

 

[Lobodomy]

Good choice. Now just don't bring Forsythe back.

 

[um]

Now let him hire his own staff

We all know how important goalie coach is now

Samsonov will be huge in our success over Ovechkins last few years. We really need a good goalie coach.

 

[txpd]

I meant my comment more so in that it sounded like a dig at Rierden and the previous staff than a validation of what Lavi has done previously. Seems like everything he said was a comment on what irritated him about the last few years under Rierden.

A dig at Reirden doesnt sound like MacLellan to me. That would also send the wrong message and set the wrong tone off the bat for Lavy.

 

[txpd]

Samsonov will be huge in our success over Ovechkins last few years. We really need a good goalie coach.

We dont even know if Samsonov is a legit NHL starter yet. One step at a time

 

[Kalopsia]

I was one of the many here who had Gallant as their first choice, but I'm super happy with Laviolette too, especially since I was terrified of ending up with Babcock.

Fun fact - Laviolette's teams have been shockingly consistent offensively throughout his career. Here's each team's GF/GP during his tenure and where that ranks in the NHL.

Carolina: 2.96 (8th)
Philly: 2.97 (5th)
Nashville: 2.94 (8th)

Something to keep in mind when the advanced stats crowd starts talking about how Laviolette kills his teams' offense. Here's the defensive side of the equation.

Carolina: 2.98 (19th)
Philly: 2.74 (16th)
Nashville: 2.63 (5th)

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

A dig at Reirden doesnt sound like MacLellan to me. That would also send the wrong message and set the wrong tone off the bat for Lavy.

How does it read to you?

 

[tenken00]

I would not agree with that. He would have to take it seriously before any respect would have any impact.

Like I said, we will have to see. But a coach that can get his team to comeback from a 0-3 game deficit in a playoff series and then actually win it definitely knows how to push buttons.

 

[AZ Caps Fan]

Very good hire for the end of an era. Interesting term. Directly related to the expectation of Ovi's remaining years. Can't wait until next season. Go CAPS!

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Welcome Lavi!

 

[hb12xchamps]

McCarthy is a former defenseman in the NHL and spent his final 3 professional seasons playing in the AHL for Hershey

 

[Roshi]

Got bit worried with the Babcock talks, but shouldnt. It was Lavi or Gallant from the start. In that order.

Thats done. Now all thats left to do is win another cup.

 

[stickty111]

As a Leafs fan, good hire for you guys. While his shelf life isn't huge, he gets buy in on his early days and is a motivating coach.
Good work on not hiring Babcock.

 

[trick9]

I wanted Gallant but cautiously optimistic about Laviolette too, he's a good coach. Very curious to see who they can get as his assistants.

 

[Kalopsia]

McCarthy is a former defenseman in the NHL and spent his final 3 professional seasons playing in the AHL for Hershey

He'd instantly be my favorite Kevin McCarthy in DC

 

[Hivemind]

The only thing that surprises me about the timing of this hiring is that they didn't wait until after the finals to see if they wanted to interview any of the Stars assistant coaches. I don't prefer any of them to Laviolette, but I imagine in any other season (that didn't have Laviolette, Gallant, Boudreau, and Babcock all available simultaneously) they would be rather hot names. John Stevens probably isn't going to overly impress anyone at this point (although he's not a terrible NHL head coach), but Todd Nelson and Derek Laxdal are intriguing. Todd Nelson's stint as Edmonton's interim head coach wasn't great, but it was on an interim basis of the pre-McDavid Oilers (and Hall missed time due to injury). Since then he's won a Calder Cup with Grand Rapids and obviously been a part of the run in Dallas.

 

[Langway]

McCarthy is a former defenseman in the NHL and spent his final 3 professional seasons playing in the AHL for Hershey

That seems very, very likely as he's sort of his Lane Lambert over the years. He seems to have handled both forwards and defense at times over the years but you'd think defense and PK would be the way to go. We'll see whether Arniel, Forsythe & Murray survive.

 

[trick9]

I wouldn't hate it if they changed the entire coaching staff. They should.

 

[g00n]

Nice. This was the odds-on smart play as Ovie's contract winds down.

I'm not sure why 3 year terms trip people up. Isn't that the average tenure of an NHL coach? Situations like Trotz in NSH are rare.

Depending on how you count seasons, only 7-11 current coaches have been with their team longer than 3 years, which is close to the same amount who have been at their club for less than a year.

Not worried about any coach burning out when 3 yrs is the norm anyway.

 

[895]

Nice. This was the odds-on smart play as Ovie's contract winds down.

I'm not sure why 3 year terms trip people up. Isn't that the average tenure of an NHL coach? Situations like Trotz in NSH are rare.

Depending on how you count seasons, only 7-11 current coaches have been with their team longer than 3 years, which is close to the same amount who have been at their club for less than a year.

It's just surprising he agreed to it. Cup winning/Jack Adams coaches like Trotz and Babcock are getting 5-8 year deals.

 

[g00n]

It's just surprising he agreed to it. Cup winning/Jack Adams coaches like Trotz and Babcock are getting 5-8 year deals.

Isn't Trotz on a 4yr deal?

Don't hold TML up as the standard for good negotiating.

edit: I've seen 4 and 5 both listed for Trotz. It's still the high end. Most are 3s or 4s.

 

[g00n]

Coach History - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Lots of 1, 2 and 3s in there. Some 4s and 5s.

One 8.

 

[um]

We dont even know if Samsonov is a legit NHL starter yet. One step at a time

Exactly, we need to figure out what to do in net.

A good goalie coach can help determine if Samsonov is the guy or not.