The pressure is quickly building around the Edmonton Oilers after their disappointing first-round playoff exit against the Anaheim Ducks, a collapse that ultimately led to the firing of head coach Kris Knoblauch. Now, Edmonton’s search for a new bench boss has become one of the biggest storylines of the NHL offseason.
And as the coaching rumors continue to intensify, one former Stanley Cup champion believes Peter Laviolette could be exactly what the Oilers need.
2017 Cup Champ Discusses Peter Laviolette to Oilers
As general manager Stan Bowman searches for a man who will be the franchise’s 10th head coach in the past 15 years, Peter Laviolette has emerged as one of the most experienced and talked-about candidates available.
With the Vegas Golden Knights stonewalling the Edmonton Oilers over permission to interview Bruce Cassidy, and the Craig Berube interview done and dusted, Laviolette has quickly become a serious fallback option for a team desperate to maximize its Stanley Cup contention window with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
In the middle of this, 2007 Stanley Cup champion Chris Pronger is making a strong case for Edmonton to hire the veteran coach. “Yes, he can grind on you with some of his motivational stuff and the way he pushes you to compete night in, night out, period after period, shift after shift. He’s on you.
But I think at this stage of the game, that’s what that team needs. He’s not a tyrant, per se,” Pronger said.
He explained that while some players can eventually tune out hard-driving coaches, Laviolette’s track record speaks for itself. He is one of only four coaches in NHL history to lead three different franchises to the Stanley Cup Final.
From leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup (2006) to guiding both the Philadelphia Flyers (2010) and Nashville Predators (2017) to the Stanley Cup Final, Laviolette has consistently delivered immediate results with veteran teams.
For Pronger, that short-term success is exactly why Laviolette makes sense for Edmonton. “He has a system and he has the ability to get the most out of players in a shorter period of time, which, frankly, is what the Oilers need over the next year or two years to try to get this team over the finish line and win a Stanley Cup,” Pronger added.
The former Oilers star believes Laviolette can help the Oilers’ veteran core capitalize on the championship window of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
More importantly, he brings instant credibility and authority to any locker room he enters.
Now, the big question becomes whether Edmonton sees Laviolette as the right coach to finally deliver a Stanley Cup before McDavid becomes eligible to discuss a contract extension next summer.
