6/1/23 | 12:29 PM: Elliotte Friedman said that he does not believe Laviolette was in NY earlier this week, and that he was either in NY or getting to NY on Thursday. He added that “I heard there were a couple of guys going in for second interviews there. “(The Jeff Marek Show)
5/31/23 | 9 AM: On 32 Thoughts Podcast, Friedman said on Wednesday “Laviolette, I believe, was in NY on Tuesday and like I said, if it was going to be him I thought we were going to find out pretty quick. I am very curious to see if now they decide to interview Hynes, Drury and Hynes have a history in college together.”
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5/30/23 | 6:02 PM: Elliotte Friedman said on NHL Now, “I think Laviolette is in New York and I said on the weekend that I was leaning towards Laviolette here and that we’d know this week, specifically, early this week if he was the guy. I stick to that until I found out otherwise or we’re told otherwise. I think that if there is one thing that has kind of changed this, maybe a little bit, I don’t even know how much it’s that there is a history between Chris Drury and John Hynes and I’d be curious to see if Drury had any desire to speak to Hynes, but he’s got Laviolette there and I think we’ve all kind of believed that Laviolette is the favorite and I just wonder that if because he’s there for a second time, I believe this is the second time he’s gone into NY or interviewed with them. Generally, if you’re at that point you are closing the circle if he’s your guy.”
1:23 PM: Friedman said on The Jeff Marek Show, “I think Laviolette, and I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, I think he’s in the lead with the Rangers and if he is the Rangers guy we are going to know soon.”
5/28/23 | 12PM: On the 32 Thoughts podcast, Friedman said “I think if Peter Laviolette is the Rangers guy and like I said on Saturday night, I’m leaning that direction, I think we’ll know this week.”
5/27/23 | 10:30 AM: Elliotte Friedman said on 32 Thoughts on Saturday, “I think a lot of people are beginning to lean Petter Laviolette on this one. If it is Laviolette we are going to find out next week.”
Adam Rotter: Much like how Gerard Gallant was the coach that made sense when David Quinn was fired, Laviolette was the one who has made the most sense since, even before, Gallant was fired. He’s experienced, has a Stanley Cup ring, albeit from 2005-06, the year Henrik Lundqvist was a rookie, and also took Philly in 2010 and Nashville in 2017. On paper he makes sense and he’s also someone who has been known to have immediate success in his career, even going back to when he brought the Islanders from the basement to the playoffs in 2002. Laviolette knows the division, kept a battered Capitals team in the playoff race for a while and he should bring more accountability, a little bit more of a firm touch and hopefully more structure to a team that needs all of that. There weren’t a ton of candidates who fit what I thought was the number one qualification for their next coach: a Stanley Cup ring.
If there was certainty that Joel Quenneville would be reinstated or reinstated before the summer, then I think he’d be behind the bench next season, but they aren’t willing to wait and risk that it doesn’t happen and/or they don’t want to deal with the backlash. Mike Babcock also, sort of, made sense on paper, but that seemed to have more bust potential than boom and him, if he returns to the NHL, going to a smaller market makes a lot more sense. Patrick Roy would have been interesting and another high risk, boom or bust candidate, but he has a huge personality and likely would want major say in player moves. I’m not sure either of those things fit with Chris Drury.
If the Rangers were in a different position it would be really interesting to see them go with Kris Knoblauch, Jay Leach or any other young first-time head coach, but that isn’t the place where they are. They need someone who has seen and done just about everything, handled star players and Laviolette fits that.