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2012-13 philadelphia flyers
PETER LAVIOLETTE Head Coach
Peter Laviolette enters his fourth season as the head coach of the Flyers. He was
named the 17th head coach in Flyers history on Dec. 4, 2009.
Since joining the club, Laviolette has had one of the most successful runs of any
Flyers head coach in the last 25 years. He has posted a regular season record of
122-73-26 since his hiring, including back-to-back 47-win seasons in 2011-12 and
2010-11 – the most wins the Flyers have had in a two-season period since 1985-87. In
the period since Laviolette’s hiring through the end of the 2011-12 season, the Flyers
have the third-most wins in the Eastern Conference (122), behind only Pittsburgh and
Washington (127 each). Over the past two full seasons, the Flyers are second in the
Eastern Conference and third overall in the NHL in standings points (209) and in points
percentage (.637). The Flyers have also enjoyed unprecedented success on the road
under Laviolette, winning a franchise-record 25 games in 2010-11 and matching that
total last season.
Laviolette’s overall record in the playoffs with the Flyers has also been among the
league’s best. Under his watch, the Flyers have been the only team in the league
to reach the second round of the playoffs (or further) in each of the last three
seasons. The Flyers have participated in eight playoff series in that time, more than any other team. In terms of overall playoff
performance, Laviolette’s teams in Carolina and Philadelphia have taken part in 12 playoff series since the lockout, which is
the third-most by any NHL coach after Mike Babcock (17 with Detroit) and Joel Quenneville (13 with Colorado and Chicago).
Laviolette coached the Flyers for the final 57 games of the 2009-10 season, recording a 28-24-5 record. He then led the club on
a remarkable playoff run, picking up series wins over New Jersey (4-1), Boston (4-3) and Montreal (4-1) as the Flyers won the
Eastern Conference championship and made the eighth Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history.
Prior to joining the Flyers, Laviolette spent parts of five seasons as head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes (2003-04 to 2008-09),
where he compiled a 167-122-34 record in 323 games. In 2005-06, Laviolette led Carolina to the only Stanley Cup championship
in franchise history, which culminated with a 3-1 win over Edmonton in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 19, 2006. The
Hurricanes won the Southeast Division that year with a record of 52-22-8, and set franchise records for wins and points (112) in
a single season. Laviolette was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Trophy as NHL Coach of the Year that season.
Laviolette previously served as head coach of the New York Islanders for two seasons (2001-02 to 2002-03). He registered a
77-62-25 regular season record and led his teams to the playoffs in both seasons, returning the Islanders to postseason play
after a seven-season absence.
In parts of ten seasons as a head coach (2001-02 to 2011-12), Laviolette has an overall record of 366-257-25-60 in 708 games
coached with the Flyers, Hurricanes and Islanders. He begins the season ranked second in all-time wins among US-born head
coaches. He also has a record of 43-39 in 82 career Stanley Cup Playoff games as a head coach.
Laviolette has been part of three Winter Olympic Games, taking part as a player for Team USA in 1988 at Calgary, Alberta and
1994 at Lillehammer, Norway. He was also the head coach of the US squad at the 2006 Games in Torino, Italy. Laviolette was the
coach for Team USA at the 2004 and 2005 IIHF World Championships, guiding the squad to a bronze medal in 2004.
Laviolette began his coaching career with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers in 1997. A 37-win season and trip to the conference
finals earned him the head job with the American Hockey League’s Providence Bruins, where Laviolette spent the last three
seasons of his playing career.
In his first of two seasons at the helm, Laviolette led Providence to an incredible turnaround – after the team won just 19 games
the year before, the P-Bruins posted an AHL-best 56-16-4-4 regular season record and won their first Calder Cup championship.
The season earned Laviolette the AHL’s Coach of the Year honors. He was promoted to assistant coach of the Boston Bruins in
2000, a position he held for one season before joining the Islanders.
Laviolette’s playing career spanned 11 seasons, mostly in the AHL and IHL. He appeared in 12 games with the New York Rangers
during the 1988-89 season.
A native of Franklin, Mass., Laviolette was born on Dec. 7, 1964. He and his wife, Kristen, have three children: sons Peter and
Jack, and daughter Elisabeth.
PETER LAVIOLETTE’S CAREER COACHING RECORD
YEAR TEAM LEAGUE GM W L OT PTS PCT finish gm W L PCT FINISH
2001-02 Islanders NHL 82 42 28 12 96 .585 2nd-Atlantic 7 3 4 .429 Lost-Conf. Quarters
2002-03 Islanders NHL 82 35 34 13 83 .506 3rd-Atlantic 5 1 4 .200 Lost-Conf. Quarters
2003-04 Hurricanes NHL 52 20 22 10 50 .481 3rd-Southeast - - - - Out of Playoffs
2005-06 Hurricanes NHL 82 52 22 8 112 .683 1st-Southeast 25 16 9 .640 WON Stanley Cup
2006-07 Hurricanes NHL 82 40 34 8 88 .537 3rd-Southeast - - - - Out of Playoffs
2007-08 Hurricanes NHL 82 43 33 6 92 .561 2nd-Southeast - - - - Out of Playoffs
2008-09 Hurricanes NHL 25 12 11 2 26 .520 Did Not Finish - - - - Did Not Finish
2009-10 FLYERS NHL 57 28 24 5 61 .535 3rd-Atlantic 24 14 10 .416 Lost-Cup Final
2010-11 FLYERS NHL 82 47 23 12 106 .646 1st-Atlantic 11 4 7 .364 Lost-Conf. Semis
2011-12 FLYERS NHL 82 47 26 9 103 .628 3rd-Atlantic 11 5 6 .455 Lost-Conf. Semis
TOTALS 708 366 257 25 60 .577 82 43 39 .524
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