New Jersey Devils: Three Head Coaches To Avoid At All Costs
player. 151. . Coach. Nashville Predators. Peter Laviolette . 1
On Monday night, the Nashville Predators announced that they have parted ways with head coach Peter Laviolette. This comes after the team blew a 2-0 lead to the Dallas Stars in the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day along with a shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night. The Predators have vastly underachieved with the roster they have so the move makes complete sense. They are led by Roman Josi in scoring.
Josi is having a Norris Trophy level season and deserves credit, but he should not be leading this team in scoring. They need their highly paid forwards to step up and be better but instead, their coach paid the price. This is exactly why the Devils should stay away from Laviolette. Everywhere he goes, the team’s offense goes to die.
Yes, he has led the Preds to five playoff appearances, one of which they went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, and a President’s Trophy. He did that on a Preds team that was defense first. Their offensive stars like Fillip Forsberg, Matt Duchene, and Ryan Johanson never really got to their ceiling offensively. If you wanted John Hynes fired for that reason, then wanting Laviolette might be counterproductive.
Laviolette will certainly coach in the NHL again, but he might have to adapt to the times or join a team that needs a defensive structure to win. The Devils need a guy who will come in and get the most out of their current budding stars. The numbers say that wouldn’t happen so the Devils should stay away from this one.