Washington Capitals: Real Expectations for Peter Laviolette

What are the realistic expectations with new hire Peter Laviolette?

After the conclusion of the season and another early playoff exit, amid a lackluster performance up and down the roster, Brian MacLellan had to eat crow and admit his mistake with the promotion of Todd Reirden by letting him go and starting fresh.

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This marked the third out of the last four coaching hires with no previous head coaching experience in the NHL. The lone hire that was on at least his second stint as head coach was Barry Trotz. All he accomplished was the one thing no other head coach in Capitals history could, a Stanley Cup victory. Given Reirden inherited the previous roster from the Cup run with minimal turnover, it was believed they would be able to repeat as champions easier than most past winners. Now after two first round exits, MacLellan has reverted back to what worked before by hiring a coach with plenty of previous coaching experience.

Enter Peter Laviolette, most recently the head coach for the Nashville Predators. Unlike the last experienced coach, Trotz only previously head coached the Predators coincidently, he has had a number of scenery changes as a head coach.

Besides his most recent stop Laviolette has also been head coach with the NY Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, and Philadelphia Flyers. So with someone who has been around the block with four teams before landing with our beloved Capitals, what did he accomplish when taking over the previous teams that we should feel positive about?

His first go around was with the New York Islanders as a rookie NHL head coach making the jump from the AHL to the NHL. He took over a team that finished last in 6 of the previous 7 seasons and went through 6 coaches in that span. The result was immediate and swift as he took the team from division basement to 2nd and a playoff appearance. Laviolette then followed that performance up with another appearance in the playoffs, albeit with a slightly worse position within the division at 3rd. Laviolette was rewarded with a firing at the hand of Mike Milbury.

Next chance for Laviolette to prove his first stop should have been given more time was with the Carolina Hurricanes. Unlike his stint with the NY Islanders he was given the keys to a team that had some success recently. Under the guidance of Paul Maurice the Hurricanes had made the Stanley Cup Final two seasons before Laviolette was called to replace him.

In the seven seasons under Maurice behind the bench the team made three playoff appearances. After a last place finish in the division and a slow start to follow that the team was handed over to Laviolette midseason. All he accomplished the next season was a first place finish in the Southeast division and a Stanley Cup victory, the only one in the teams history.

Laviolette followed this great accomplishment up with a near playoff entry two years in a row, just missing by 5 standings points and 2 standings points respectively. This coupled with a slow start to the next season had the team return to Maurice as head coach midseason.

Again Laviolette was left jobless until a midseason hire to helm the Flyers to finish the 2009-10 season. His hire seemed like just the ticket as the team was able to punch theirs to the Stanley Cup final, and took the Blackhawks to 6 games before an improbable goal to seal it for the winner.

The next two seasons he responded with two more playoff bound teams, although they both only made it to the 2nd round. In his 3rd full season as head coach the team missed the playoffs during the lockout shortened season. This was only the second time missing the playoffs in 18 years, thus he was placed on thin ice for a team long overdue for a championship. It only took 3 games into the following season for the team to call it quits on Laviolette, as he started the season 0-3-0.

For only the second time in his coaching career Peter Laviolette was given an opportunity to start the season as the head coach of a team when he was hired by the Nashville Predators before the 2014-15 season. The impact not surprisingly was immediate as he improved the team from a next to last place divisional finish to 2nd in one year. Laviolette gave the team every chance to succeed while making the playoffs each season he was the coach.

With one year being a Stanley Cup appearance, although the team didn’t win it was the furthest the team has ever made it in the team’s playoff history. Shockingly, after following up the Stanley Cup appearance with two 1st place divisional finishes the team regressed when advancing through the playoffs. Couple this with an uneven start to the season last year the team decided to give Laviolette his walking papers midseason.

It’s not surprising to see why Peter Laviolette considered a hot commodity for all the teams looking to fill coaching vacancies this past offseason. No matter his roster situation or previous team success, when he first shows up on the scene he appears to make a dramatic change for the better.

For a team like the Washington Capitals, who are still looking to strike it rich while their core is intact in the midst of their prime, he is the perfect head coach to take them a step further and bring them within reach of another Stanley Cup.

Take away the inexperience left at the goalie position and the roster Laviolette is getting could arguably be the best he has ever had to start a stint as head coach. Considering this along with the consistent playoff appearances before arriving. I would not be shocked to see Peter Laviolette take the Washington Capitals to the Eastern Conference finals if not the Stanley Cup within the next two to three seasons. Perhaps even multiple times.

The concern will become how long his presence can be positive for the team. While he wasn’t given the best opportunity in his first gig, being fired after two seasons with playoff appearances. He has been given between 3-5 years of full season work in for all other stops. In those stops he has reached or won the Stanley Cup within the first three seasons of coaching his teams. However, the drop off from those appearances were dramatic.

For the Washington Capitals this may wind up being the perfect match to finish the careers of Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom while rocking the red. With this being the best chance to see the finals again and perhaps even come away with another win. Only time will tell if Laviolette can make this a home beyond their careers in Washington.

But if he can assist the team in their transition from the old guard into a new contention window, without the aforementioned stars, he should be given every opportunity to stick with the team for longer than any other stint in his career.