The Pacific Division's coaching picture is heading for a shakeup of sorts, with the Los Angeles Kings pursuing head coaching options and the Vancouver Canucks looking at doing so as well.
But with the events of last week in mind, it's time to add the Edmonton Oilers to that list.
And it seems they want to get their search going as soon as possible. The team is expected to talk to former Toronto Maple Leafs bench boss Craig Berube and there is a chance they get the chance to talk to ex-Vegas Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy, though it remains to be seen if Vegas will give the team permission to do so.
But is Peter Laviolette an option for the Oilers?
Elliotte Friedman did name-drop the former New York Rangers bench boss alongside Berube and Cassidy; given Friedman's reputation, one can view the claim as legitimate.
And it isn't just a spur of the moment name-drop
Like Cassidy and Berube, Laviolette is an experienced coach. While his lone Cup win came back in 2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes, this is a coach who knows how to win. He has a career 846-562-25-161 (wins, losses, ties, overtime losses) record as an NHL head coach, a metric that includes a 94-59-11 mark with the Rangers and a 167-122-6-28 record with the Hurricanes.
Not only has he won the Stanley Cup, but he's also made it to the Stanley Cup Final an additional two times, once with the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2009-10 campaign (the same one where they came back down 3-0 in a series with Boston and down 3-0 in Game 7 of that same tie), and again with the Nashville Predators during the 2016-17 season.
He's also won the Presidents' Trophy twice, once with the Predators during the 2017-18 campaign and again with the Rangers during the 2023-24 season. And he's only missed the playoffs six times when he has coached a full season.
What happens if Laviolette is the coach for the Oilers?
If the Oilers were to hire Laviolette as their head coach, he would almost certainly bring a level of experience that only few could match.
At the same time, like Knoblauch, he would know how best to utilize the talent at his disposal. When he won the Presidents' Trophy in 2024 with the Rangers, New York had the fourth-most power play goals (65), the third-best power play percentage (26.4%), and the third-best penalty kill (84.5%). They weren't necessarily the greatest five-on-five team in all metrics, but the 2023-24 Rangers knew how to play a good special teams game.
The same held true back in 2017-18, the other time Laviolette coached a Presidents' Trophy winning team. While the Predators only had the twelfth-best power play percentage at 21.2%, they scored the sixth-most power play goals with 58 and the sixth-best penalty kill at 81.9%.
If one goes back to the 2009-10 season, when Laviolette's Flyers went on a run to the Stanley Cup Final, Philly had the second-most power play goals (68) and the third-best power play percentage (21.5%), though the penalty kill was only 11th-best at 83%. That same postseason saw Philly lead all playoff teams in power play goals while possessing the second-best penalty kill at 85.3%.
Despite some inconsistency even during Stanley Cup Final-bound seasons, Laviolette knows how to put together a strong power play and his units are capable of capitalizing with the numerical advantage.
When considering the strength of the Oilers' offense, particularly with regard to the special teams play, one can see the potential that a Laviolette-coached Oilers team could present.
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