NEW YORK – Kings coach Peter Laviolette – veteran of 24 seasons behind an NHL bench – experienced the highs and lows of that profession during his two seasons as coach of the New York Rangers.
The 61-year-old Laviolette joined the Kings last summer following a season away from the NHL after guiding the Rangers to the Presidents’ Trophy in 2023-24 before missing the playoffs in 2024-25.
“It was kind of a tale of two years. The first year was really good, I mean, most wins and most points for a very storied franchise. Took it to three rounds to Florida and lost in Game 6, and that was disappointing -not to win a couple more games and get that chance to play for the Cup,’’ Laviolette said before the Kings faced the Rangers on Monday at Madison Square Garden. “It was something that I'll remember being here in New York. Obviously, the second year was not as smooth and had problems.”
Laviolette had current Kings forward Artemi Panarin score a career-high 49 goals and post a career-best 120 points for the Rangers during a 2023-24 campaign in which New York won 55 times and accrued 114 points. They swept Washington, then ousted the Carolina before falling in six games to the eventual Stanley Cup-champion Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The following season the Rangers tumbled to 85 points, fifth in the Metropolitan Division and out of the playoffs. Laviolette was let go and replacing by Mike Sullivan. Laviolette chose to take a year off from coaching and said that was positive after so many consecutive seasons of games and travel.
“It was good. I got to do some things I hadn't been able to do,’’ he said. “I went to Scotland and watched my daugher's fiance play golf. I went to St. Andrews and got to go to a couple of weddings.”
Now his task is getting the Kings on track. After going winless in their first six games, Los Angeles started their current five-game road trip by defeating the Washington Captials and New York Islanders before falling to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
Panarin scored twice against the Islanders in a 3-2 overtime win on Saturday at UBS Arena and leads the Kings with six goals. Another former Ranger, Mats Zuccarello, joined the Kings last summer and has just one assist in six games. He will miss Monday's game with an upper-body injury.
At 2-5-2 entering Monday’s contest at the Garden against the Rangers, the Kings will have work to do as the New York has started their home season 6-0-0.
“We have to defend better. Once we defend better, we're not playing defense and that gives us a chance to play offense,’’ Laviolette said. “Our second periods have been problematic. But I think we have come out in some of the games and played pretty well. The third period against the Islanders was really good. I thought we generated - between that and overtime - about eight or nine chances.”
Laviolette has seen plenty in a coaching career spanning more than two decades. He started with the Islanders in 2001-02, won the Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006 and guided Philadelphia (2010) and Nashville (2017) to the Cup Final. He is seventh on the all-time coaching wins list with 848 plus another 88 wins in the playoffs.
Laviolette also played for the Rangers, his only 12 NHL games back in 1988-89, and said his time as coach of the Original Six franchise will always be a cherished career memory.
“I loved being in Madison Square Garden. The New York fans were awesome,’’ he said. “I can't tell you how many times I was around the country and somebody would come up to me and say they are the biggest Ranger fans ever. I think they are. They would talk about how their grandfather took them to a game 50 years ago and now they are 60 years old and taking their grandkids. Because it has been around for 100 years, you get stories like that and you can feel the passion from the fans.”