Despite being fired as head coach of the Nashville Predators, Peter Laviolette has nothing but good things to say about the organization and his former boss, GM David Poile. Laviolette spoke with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic just a day after being let go by the Predators. He made it clear he knew expectations were high.
“I don't know if getting fired will ever surprise me because you're in a profession where you're expected to win, you're expected to help your team be successful,” Laviolette told The Athletic over the phone on Tuesday evening. “And as a coach, I realize that. So for me, when your team is winning and doing great and you're in first place in your division or if you're a top seed in your conference, you probably don't worry about those things. Anything is possible when you're not in those positions. Anything is possible at any time. That's the nature of the beast and the nature of the job.''
Laviolette praised Poile as an excellent GM and a better person, saying the line of the communication between the two was open and honest.
“David is such an incredible human being,” Laviolette said. “I'm really thankful to David for the opportunity that he gave me to work with him. My relationship with him was really good, we talked almost every day, more than once a day, and it was a partnership and I really appreciate that part of it. You know what kind of man he is, he wants to do anything he can for anybody on a personal level and for his team for the organization to be successful. I've feel very fortunate to have worked for David and the ownership group here. They were fantastic.''
Laviolette left Nashville with a winning record since being named to the head coaching position in the 2014-2015 season (451-248-143). But, he admits to knowing that just barely making the playoffs wouldn't be good enough any longer. That was fine when he was first brought in. However, the team was built since then with the expectations for a playoff run. With the team outside of a playoff spot at the moment, it was clear something had to change.
As for his future in the business, Laviolette seems to have no doubt that he will be back behind the bench of an NHL team sooner rather than later.
“When the time comes, if there is a vacancy down the road, if my family and I feel it's the fit we are looking for, for sure I want to coach again,” Laviolette said. “I want to go back in, I want to build something. I want to try to take something that's not working and turn it in the right direction and to find success and that challenge in the playoffs, and be successful and motivate players.
“For sure it's something, and I think it's down the road, but I'm definitely still on board.''
Laviolette was replaced with John Hynes, who had been fired as the head coach of the New Jersey Devils earlier this season. He was the sixth head coach to be released by an NHL team in 2019-20. Others include Mike Babcock (Toronto), Peter DeBoer (San Jose), Bill Peters (Calgary), Jim Montogomery (Dallas) and the aforementioned Hynes (New Jersey). Laviolette has also served as coach of the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers.
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