Laviolette’s Journey Brings Him Full Circle to New York as Rangers Head Coach
“This is where my NHL journey started, here in New York. I can’t tell you how humbled I am to come back and coach this team,” Pete Laviolete said in…
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – JANUARY 11: Head Coach of the Washington Capitals Peter Laviolette watches the play on the ice during the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center on January 11, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)
"This is where my NHL journey started, here in New York. I can't tell you how humbled I am to come back and coach this team," Pete Laviolete said in his opening remarks as Head Coach of the New York Rangers.
The Broadway Blue shirts formally introduced Laviolette on Tuesday afternoon as the 37th head coach in franchise history.
"There has to be a clear cut plan as to what we are doing. It's my job to communicate that. It's my job to hold players accountable. If you can get a team on the same page to play a brand of hockey that you feel is successful, success tends to follow," he added during a Q&A.
Laviolette brings a resume of success. In five previous stops as a head coach, he has taken all of those franchises to the playoffs, including winning the Stanley Cup in 2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Rangers haven't been to the Cup Finals since 2014 with a stunning run to the finals where they lost to the LA Kings. Since that time the Rangers have been fairly successful. They have gotten to the playoffs six times, losing in the conference finals twice, but they haven't had a swing at the ultimate prize in nearly a decade.
It's been three decades since the Rangers won it all in 1994.
Can Laviolette get the Rangers back to the promise land?
"Let's go to work. We have good pieces in place, but it is about that work ethic that drives teams."
