"I didn't know him very well, but I watched him when he coached the Islanders and his Islander teams always played hard every game, made the playoffs," Rutherford said. "But it was the way they approached the game. He had those guys ready and played hard all the time. That's what really drew me at that time.
"It's actually a funny story. I was on [Long Island] when I was thinking about making a coaching change. I called him up and said, 'It's Jim Rutherford calling.'
"He said, 'No, who's playing this trick on me?' I said, 'No Peter, it's Jim Rutherford.' He said, 'C'mon, I know it's not Jim Rutherford.'
"I said, 'I'll tell you what. I said I'm staying at the (Long Island) Marriott. I want you to come have dinner with me tonight or lunch tomorrow. If somebody is playing a trick on you, you're going to pull up and nobody will be there. I'm going to tell you, I'll be there. That's how it started."
Laviolette confirmed he thought it was a prank.
"I remember my wife saying it was Jim Rutherford on the phone," he said. "And I'm like, 'Yeah, right,' as I'm sitting there playing Mr. Potato Head.
"I get on there and had a conversation with Jim. One thing led to another and we ended up talking on the phone, eventually meeting and eventually getting hired in Carolina. It was special what we built in Carolina and such a great experience for him, for me as well. Something surely I'll never forget."