Franklin's Pete Laviolette Parts With Washington Capitals

Franklin native, Pete Laviolette, who has had a long career as both a hockey player and a coach “parted ways” with his most recent team on Friday.

The Washington Capitals and head coach Peter Laviolette have agreed to mutually part ways, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today. Laviolette, whose contract expires on June 30, will not return as the Capitals head coach next season.

Laviolette was the 19th head coach in franchise history and led the club to a 115-78-27 record from 2020-23.

"We are grateful for Peter's leadership and dedication to our organization for the last three seasons," said MacLellan. "Peter is a first-class individual who has represented our club with integrity and guided our team through many difficult circumstances in his tenure as our head coach. We wish him all the best moving forward."

According to Wikipedia, after Franklin High, where he played baseball and hockey, he played college ice hockey at Westfield State and then spent the majority of his ten-year career playing for various minor league teams. He played 12 games in the NHL for the New York Rangers during the 1988–89 season, but failed to record a point. Laviolette also played for the United States in the Olympics twice (1988 and 1994).

He began his coaching career as head coach of the ECHL Wheeling Nailers. In one season as coach, he led his team to a 37–24–9 record and a berth in the playoffs, wherein they lost in the third round. He left Wheeling to take over the head coaching job for the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League (AHL). In 1998–99, he coached the team to a 56–15–4 regular-season record. In the playoffs, Providence won the AHL Calder Cup Championship with a 15–4 playoff record. Laviolette was named the AHL Coach of the Year.

Laviolette's success in the AHL earned him a stint as an assistant coach for the Boston Bruins. Having grown up in the Boston area, Laviolette was reportedly disappointed when he did not get the head coaching job in Boston after that season so he left for the head coaching job with the New York Islanders, followed by the Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, and then Washington Capitals.