Report: Rangers to name Peter Laviolette head coach

Laviolette departed the Washington Capitals organization on April 14 after missing the playoffs during the last year of his contract.

With 752 career victories, ‘Lavy’ is the eighth-winningest coach in NHL history, with the most wins of any American coach and the 3rd-most wins of any active coach (Lindy Ruff, Paul Maurice).

Laviolette, who relieved Todd Rierden as coach of the Caps, could not end Washington’s streak of seasons without a series win in the wake of the team’s 2018 Stanley Cup triumph under Barry Trotz. 2022-2023 was the Capitals’ fifth-consecutive season without a conference semifinal appearance.

The Rangers are the fifth team Laviolette will have coached in the current Metropolitan Division, along with his stints leading the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, and Washington.

Laviolette brought Carolina its first Stanley Cup in 2006 and appeared in the Stanley Cup Final with the Flyers in 2010 and Nashville Predators in 2017.

The Rangers fired coach Gerard Gallant on May 6 after a first-round loss to the rival New Jersey Devils. New York lost in seven games after winning Games 1 and 2 in New Jersey by a combined score of 10-2. Gallant’s dismissal came despite consecutive finishes of 107+ points.

Laviolette will need to improve on the Rangers’ 2022-23 flameout after the 2022 vintage of the team took the Tampa Bay Lightning to seven games in the Eastern Conference Final.

New York paid handsomely to acquire aging superstars Patrick Kane and Vladamir Tarasenko at the trade deadline on deals that will likely become rentals when the duo hits free agency.

With the team’s forward core of Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, and Mika Zibanejad all on lengthy, expensive deals and over 30, Laviolette has to squeeze more out of this Rangers roster than Gallant did to win the team’s first Stanley Cup since 1994.