The Washington Capitals, according to numerous sources, are expected to hire Peter Laviolette as their head coach.
After firing Todd Reirden, the Washington Capitals have been moving quickly to find their next head coach. They quickly narrowed their candidates down to three – Peter Laviolette, Mike Babcock, and Gerard Gallant. According to Pierre LeBrun, the Capitals have made their choice. They’ll be hiring Laviolette.
The Capitals have confirmed the hiring. It’s a three-year deal worth just under $5 million per season, so they clearly paid up for Laviolette.
Laviolette should be a good fit with the Capitals. His teams have traditionally been structurally strong on defense. Under Todd Reirden, the Capitals were simply not structurally strong on defense. It’s hard to imagine he was a trusted confidant of Barry Trotz, who is well known for his structured defenses. Laviolette should change that.
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Though questions could be raised about Laviolette’s teams regarding their offenses, it’s worth pointing out it has been a while since he’s had a crop of forwards to work with like the Capitals currently have. The same concerns were raised about Barry Trotz before the 2014-15 season. He quickly quieted those critics. Fans should be optimistic Laviolette will do the same.
The most important thing about Laviolette is he immediately improves the teams that hire him. He’s taken three different franchises to the Stanley Cup Final. No other coach in NHL history can say that. He’s also someone who knows how to push players’ buttons. Laviolette knows how to motivate and knows how to get the most out of his players.
Gerard Gallant would have arguably been a better choice, but I imagine his heart is set on the Seattle Kraken. Also, it’s not known what his asking price was. Maybe it was beyond what the Capitals were willing to pay, especially during a pandemic that has been costing a lot of teams a lot of money. But Laviolette was easily the second best candidate.
The Washington Capitals need to win now. They don’t have time to let coaches learn. Laviolette should command the locker room and help the Capitals get the most out of the next three or so years. If they win a Stanley Cup during that time, nobody’s going to care if the Capitals suffer the same fate the Flyers and Predators during their last days with Laviolette.