Laviolette talks about contract extension
Peter Laviolette had his contract extended Wednesday by the Flyers.
Laviolette talks about contract extension
Peter Laviolette had his contract extended Wednesday by the Flyers.
It is a multiyear extension, according to Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren.
“I was really excited to come to a market like Philadelphia, and an organization like this with the history, the ownership, and working for Paul,” Laviolette said. “I’m as excited today as I was back then about being able to move forward. There’s a great group of players here and to come back and be able to continue to work here is where I want to be. Philadelphia is a big market and I was really excited back then and I'm still really excited about that.”
Laviolette has been the Flyers’ coach since Dec. 4, 2009. He has a regular-season record of 122-73-26 with the Flyers. He led the Flyers into the Stanley Cup finals in 2010.
Holmgren was asked how important it was to get the deal done now. “Peter and I have a strong relationship,” Holmgren said. “We talked about it briefly at the end of the year and we had our own business to work through with the draft, July 1st, and all the other stuff that goes on. There was never a question that this wasn’t going to get done. I am very happy to have it done. Peter is a tremendous coach in our league and he is has done a tremendous job for the Flyers. I know that is going to continue. He is a good man and very deserving of this.”
The NHL and the players’ union are in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, leaving the league with uncertainty.
“We will go about it as normal,” Laviolett said. “I think there is a lot of preparation in the month beforehand with regard to your team and what it is shaping up to be. I don’t think anything will change that. Hopefully we start and move forward as planned, but if we don't I guess it gets delayed and you forward when they say move forward.”
Laviolette was asked his evaluation of the team and if there are concerns on defense.
“No. I think when you look at a guy like Shea Weber [a free-agent target of the Flyers] there are probably a lot of teams that wish they had a player of his caliber on their club,” he said. “Our team moved forward without Shea last year. We dealt with certain injuries and things that I think our club had to overcome.
“We used a lot of good, young defensemen and a lot of good players. I am excited about the players that we brought into the fold this year. I think it is going to be an exciting time to be building it back up from where we left off and adding the new players to the mix. I feel good about the players that we have under contract and moving forward.”
Holmgren said defensemen Andrej Meszaros and Marc-Andre Bourdon are “fine” coming off injuries at the end of the season.
Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne, Ron Hextall as Asst. GM, Patrick Sharp, Dennis Seidenberg, Justin Williams, Mark Recchi, John Stevens Asst Coach, Ben Eager,Mark Eaton, Ruslan Fedetenko, Todd Fedoruk, Rod Brind'amour, Darren Rumble. These are just the names I could quickly find. They have all won the Cup after playing with the Flyers. Admittedly, some of these players are marginal at best. Also, I am sure that this argument could be made about other teams as well. Yet, the Flyers are the team with the 37 year Cup-less streak. They are the only team I care about. It appears the best trades are ones that the opposing teams make with the Flyers. Now you can say the trades of Richards and Carter were great trades. Yet, that is still to be determined. What has been proven, is that those two players and the others are capable of winning the Cup and they did. Would you trade in the potential of Schenn and Couturier, for a Cup win last year. Obviously, you can't say that Richards and Carter would have one a Cup this past season here for the Flyers. Would you trade those scenarios though? Schenn and Couturier and their potential for Carter and Richards a Stanley Cup and the future they bring as well? Would Ed Snider? Considering he doesn't have that many Spring playoff seasons left in him.— derkaiser- The Flyers won't win a Cup without Richards either. Its far more accurate to say that Richards wasn't going to win a Cup in Philly...despite him, not b/c of him. Potential's great...if its allowed to be realized. Richards realized his. How's that potential working out for Philly? You'll never know, b/c the players that have it will be playing elsewhere when its realized. LA is a classy organization, half their team was drafted and developed by them, the other half mostly assembled by a GM who recognizes character and talent and doesn't let personal pride get in the way of winning.
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- der kaiser is amazing and right as always...Three cheers for derkaiser....Hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray!!!!!!— derkaiser
- I get the 30 plus year Cup thing, but yes it is that hard. Look at Toronto a hockey mad market that hasnt houisted it since the 60's and hasnt been to the playoffs since 2004. We here in Philly are lucky in a way that we are always competitive, we will hoist that cup again soon.— hottnikks97
- This comment has been deleted.— derkaiser
- Oh dear... I appear to have struck a nerve. Sorry derpkaiser but you are lame, unoriginal, a 13 year old boy, an 11 year old girl, and woefully misinformed about everything everywhere. — The Oneness
- @derkaser, not a single player you mentioned was the "key" contributer in SC win with exception of Rob Brind'amour (maybe). It's not like Flyers traded Kopitar/Quick/Brown, EricStaal/Ward, Crosby/Malkin, Toews/Patrick Kane, Chara/Thomas/Burgeron.
Sharp, Williams, Richards, Carter were all decent support players during those runs. Recchi was there for leadership and Gagne was for balance.
I admit trading Patrick Sharp was a big mistake but who knew? Would you trade Forsberg, Richards, Carter ahead of Patrick Sharp in 2004-05? The rest were decent hockey trades.
Did you actually mention John Stevens, Fedoruk (did not win SC) and Eaton? ha-ha
— Nitroglycerin - Flyer extensions are the kiss of death, Lavy will be fired before next season is over...— barry1757
- The sheer stupidity of Philadelphia sports owners is beyond comprehension. The guy was already signed for the upcoming season. Why throw away money on a guy that hasn't won championship here and appears to be losing the players as the season wore on. Coaches have a limited shelf life. Why not wait until mid-season to see if the team has actually improved over last year's before throwing million of bucks at him?— schnitzelboy
- After the Devils series how could you not want him back? Sat on his thumb for games two thru five.— quigly46
- Good news! I really like Lavy and his style of coaching. I love how he has his players' backs no matter what. I think the Flyers play well under him and I think they win a cup with Lavy within the next 2-3 years. I really do. GO FLYERS; can't wait for them to start their season!— dundermifflin
- How do you blame the coach for Matt Carle standing still and watching the Devils skate past and around him.Do you blame the coach for Bryz handing the Devils the winning goal in game 5.The players are the reason we lost the series not Lavy.Coaches are hired to be fired at some point...except for Andy Reid.— donne8008
- Who cares who the coach is....talent wins and Homer and Clarke and Mr Snyder have not put the talent together....for 30 years....We bitcvh and wine over the Ealges not winning in Laurie and Reids 13 years but the faithfull koolade drinking 17,775 demand nothing from thier front office....remember, it is hockey...one step above hockey and 5 steps below college basketball, pro bball, the Phillies and the Birds.....You can't have it both ways folks....if the Eagles have failed miserably, then so have the flyers...and Lavy is hardly at fault here..— nuggett
