This will be Laviolette’s seventh head coaching job in the NHL. He’s seventh among coaches in wins (846) and ninth in games (1,594), last guiding the New York Rangers for two seasons (2023-25). New York (55-23-4) won the Presidents’ Trophy in his first season (2023-24) for having the best record in the NHL but lost the Eastern Conference Final in six games to the Florida Panthers. The Rangers fired Laviolette after missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs the following season (39-36-7).
Los Angeles (35-27-20) was swept by the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference First Round this season after clinching the second wild card into the playoffs. It was the first time the Kings lost a best-of-7 series in four games since the Vegas Golden Knights defeated them in the 2018 first round. They’ve qualified for the playoffs for five consecutive seasons and have been eliminated in the opening round each time.
Laviolette began his NHL coaching career with the New York Islanders in 2001-02, coaching them for two seasons, and won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006, defeating the Edmonton Oilers in seven games in the Cup Final in his second of five seasons with the team. He also coached the Philadelphia Flyers (2009-13), the Nashville Predators (2014-20) and the Washington Capitals (2020-23).
Laviolette reached the Cup Final with the Flyers in 2010, losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games, and guided the Predators to the 2017 Final, a six-game loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He’s 846-562-161 with 25 ties during the regular season and 88-82 in 170 playoff games.
He is joined by Scotty Bowman, Dick Irvin and Mike Keenan as the only four coaches in NHL history to reach the Cup Final with three different franchises. Laviolette is also one of four coaches to win five consecutive Game 7s in Stanley Cup Playoff history.
Laviolette will be reunited with Kings forward Artemi Panarin, who played for him with the Rangers. Panarin was traded to Los Angeles on Feb. 4.
