Flyers expect to extend Laviolette soon

Philadelphia Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren told the Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday he expects to have a contract extension completed with coach Peter Laviolette in about a week. Laviolette's current deal runs through the end of the 2012-13 season.

Laviolette has led the Flyers to back-to-back 47-win seasons. In parts of three seasons in Philadelphia, he has a record of 122-73-26, and 23-22 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Flyers have won at least one playoff series in each of his three seasons.

He was hired by the Flyers on Dec. 4, 2009 with the team 11th in the Eastern Conference standings. They turned things around, and after a shootout win on the last day of the regular season, Laviolette led the Flyers to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final.

The past two seasons have seen the Flyers eliminated in the conference semifinals, including a five-game series loss to the New Jersey Devils this spring.