Former Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette sure looks like he could be sticking around the Metropolitan Division.
The Athletic’s Arthur Staple reported on Friday that Laviolette has interviewed with the New York Rangers for their open head coaching job and has done the same with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The 58 year old, veteran bench boss is considered a finalist for the Columbus job as they are further along in their search than New York.
“A league source said Laviolette interviewed with the Rangers this week,” Staple wrote. “We’re not sure if the 58-year-old, five-time coach and 2006 Stanley Cup winner was the first candidate to meet with Drury but in the NHL coaching community, Laviolette is the one many believe is the front-runner here.
“Laviolette has already interviewed for the Blue Jackets’ coaching job and is considered a finalist of sorts there, alongside current Columbus associate coach Pascal Vincent,” he adds. “It’s unlikely the Rangers speed up their timeline to jump ahead of Columbus, though the Jackets are known to be eager to name a new coach in the coming weeks.”
The Rangers parted ways with head coach Gerard Gallant in early May after they were ousted from the playoffs by the New Jersey Devils in seven games in the first round. The Blue Jackets are seeking to replace Brad Larsen, who they fired in mid-April after failing to gain entry into the postseason.
Laviolette has a ton of experience coaching teams in the Metro, having prior stints with the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, and obviously most recently with the Washington Capitals. With the Caps, he amassed a 115-78-27 record before mutually parting ways with the organization on April 14.
Laviolette told NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti in late April that he definitely is not done coaching yet.
“I do want to coach again if somebody will have me,” Laviolette said. “I go to my Finals record and it’s 1-2, and that bothers me. If you’re talking personal, that bugs me, and I would like to at least like to even that up. I think way more about that. That’s what drives me and probably leads back to the earlier conversation just about [being] disappointed that I and we couldn’t have done more to try to get further in the playoffs.”
If Laviolette does take either the Rangers or Blue Jackets job, he would become the fourth-straight Capitals head coach to take their next job with a current Metro Division team after leaving DC.
Adam Oates was dismissed and then joined the New Jersey Devils as co-head coach with Scott Stevens, Barry Trotz won a Stanley Cup with the Caps and then joined the Islanders as their head coach, and most recently Todd Reirden joined the Pittsburgh Penguins as an assistant coach just one week after being let go by the Caps in 2020.
Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
