Coach with a winning mentality: Laviolette will coach the New York Rangers! Will a familiar face guarantee success?

What had long been speculated about overseas turned out to be true. The speculation that Peter Laviolette will lead the New York Rangers in the NHL season was confirmed on Tuesday.

It’s official. The Rangers confirmed definitively on their website on Tuesday that they will be led by a familiar figure, Peter Laviolette, starting in the new season. He will replace Gerard Gallant, who was fired by the New York team almost immediately after being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

He came to the Rangers organization in June 2021 and reached the 100-point mark each time (twice) with the team in the regular season. He became the first coach in franchise history to do so.

However, due to the disappointing playoff result, where it can be said quite objectively that the Rangers had a Stanley Cup team, he is parting ways with the New York cabinet.

Laviolette, as Gallant’s successor, last coached the Washington Capitals. However, the club from the U.S. capital also said goodbye to a familiar name, failing to advance to the playoffs for the first time since the 2013-14 season.

The Capitals also recorded their most losses since the 2006-07 season (47 of 82 regular season games). Either way, it was a clear choice for the Rangers.

According to The Athletic, Laviolette signed a three-year contract in New York, and will receive five million dollars annually.

Will a familiar face guarantee success?

Laviolette simply has a winning mentality. He led the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup at the end of the 2005-06 season. It should be noted, at that time with a team from which very few expected to win the overall championship.

In addition, in 2010, he advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals with Philadelphia, and seven years later he repeated a similar campaign with Nashville. Unfortunately, both times he did not win the coveted trophy.

And as the above mentioned site also brings to mind, Laviolette accumulated 752 wins during his 21-year coaching career. That’s the eighth best result of all time. He also became the most successful American coach in the NHL.

“We are thrilled that Peter will be the next head coach of the New York Rangers. With his extensive experience in this role in the NHL, as well as the success that teams have achieved under Peter’s leadership at various levels throughout his career, we look forward to what the future holds for our team under his leadership,” said club president Chris Drury in a press release.

Sources: NHL, New York Rangers, The Athletic