George McPhee has hired another former co-worker he used to employ with the Capitals.
Wednesday morning, Las Vegas named Dave Prior as team’s new director of goaltending and NHL goaltender coach.
More from Las Vegas’s press release:
Prior served as Goalie Coach for the Washington Capitals from 1997-2014. Before joining the Capitals’ coaching staff, Prior worked as a goaltending coach for the Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets. He has also gained international experience mentoring goalies on the German National Team.
Before his NHL coaching days began, the native of Guelph, Ontario spent seven years working with the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.
The Las Vegas NHL franchise will begin play in the 2017-2018 season.
Prior spent 17 years in Washington and was very successful. He helped coach the Capitals behind the scenes to their only Stanley Cup Final appearance, led Olie Kolzig to the Vezina Trophy during the 2000 season, and helped draft countless talented goaltenders into the organization including Semyon Varlamov, Michal Neuvirth, Philipp Grubauer, and 2016 Vezina Trophy winner Braden Holtby.
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Prior was fired in August 2013 when he refused to endorse and implement changes to the style of play head coach Adam Oates wanted.
“Adam did not agree with how I coach, both in my methods and the content of what I coached,” Prior said to the Washington Post’s Katie Carerra. “My inflexibility was perceived as ignorance or stubbornness, but I perceive it as a much deeper knowledge of the position. …I have no regrets. I would do the same thing again because I stand up for what I believe in. I would gladly defend a goaltender and what I believe is the toughest way to play goal and lose my job over it than to pour gas on them or give them what I believe is bad advice.”
Oates was fired the next summer.
So far this summer, McPhee has hired talented Caps scout Wil Nichol as Las Vegas’s Director Of Player Development and tried to interview Caps Assistant GM Ross Mahoney.
Dave Prior becomes the 4th (of 6 total so far) front office member who was with the Capitals in 2013-14. (McPhee, Nichol, Boettinger, Prior)
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) August 10, 2016
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