No. 39 Returns to Broadway

Back to Broadway. Back to where it all began.

Peter Laviolette was officially unveiled as the 37th Head Coach in New York Rangers history on Tuesday morning at the team's practice facility in Tarrytown.

Laviolette addressed the media alongside New York Rangers President and General Manager Chris Drury as Laviolette made his official return to the organization where he played his first - and only - stint in the NHL as a player during the 1988-89 season. Fittingly, Laviolette was first welcomed alongside Drury, who presented him with a No. 39 Rangers jersey to commemorate his full-circle journey back to the organization.

"My family went online - I think it was eBay - in pursuit of the ever-elusive Laviolette 39 jersey," Laviolette said with a laugh after receiving the new threads. "With only 12 games played, they had a difficult task and not much luck. They poked some fun at me. They ripped me a little bit, only playing 12 games. I let them know that they couldn't find the jersey not because I was here for just a minute, but because it was in such demand."

In the years since that NHL stint and a 15-year playing career mostly spread between the American and International hockey leagues, Laviolette has established himself as an accomplished and well-respected coach in the league. The 58-year-old Franklin, Mass. native boasts a wealth of experience with 1,430 games (752-503-25) spent behind the benches of the New York Islanders (2001-03), the Carolina Hurricanes (2003-09) - where he led the team to its first and only Stanley Cup in franchise history in 2006 - the Philadelphia Flyers (2009-14), the Nashville Predators (2014-20), and most recently, the Washington Capitals (2020-23). In the postseason, he led Carolina (2006), Philadelphia (2010) and Nashville (2017) to the Stanley Cup Finals.

"I'm thrilled to be here as the coach of the New York Rangers," Laviolette said. "I understand the history and importance of being able to coach an Original 6 team. We have a really good team and really good players. My staff and I will work tirelessly, pushing towards a common goal of bringing the Stanley Cup to New York. I'd like to personally thank James Dolan and Chris Drury for this opportunity. This is one of the best franchises in sports and it's in one of the best cities in the world.

"This is where my NHL journey started here, in New York," Laviolette continued. "For me to be back here, for me to tell you that this means a lot to me - it won't truly reflect how proud I am and how humbled I am to be given this chance to come back to the city of New York and to be able to coach this team, the New York Rangers."

Drury executed a thorough coaching search and was impressed by not just the extensive resume of Laviolette, but by his blue-collar approach.

"He's someone that I wanted to talk to right away when the job opened up," Drury said. "It was a detailed and thorough process. It's a big job and an important job. As I went through the process, he made it clear to me all his attributes as a coach and a person. It made sense for our team."

For the veteran coach, the blueprint of success originates from the team's core of their day-to-day habits and commitment to executing - and being held accountable - to a level of tenacity and grit. Laviolette will look to continue implementing stingy elements as part of reshaping the team's DNA, while maintaining the bigger picture of performance in the postseason in mind.

"For me, it's always been a little bit more of an aggressive approach," Laviolette said. "You have to play good defense - you see that with teams that win Stanley Cups. It's always a priority, and you have to be able to play good in your defensive zone, but for me, it's about the attack. It's about puck pressuring, it's about the pursuit, the battle level, the compete level, the grit. It's that grind in the game that makes teams great. You can't just flip a switch on them. That has to be talked about now, it has to be taught in training camp, it has to be worked on in the exhibition games and has to be pushed on throughout the season so that it's not something that you're asking to change or flip a switch to play playoff hockey. It's so that you're preparing yourself the whole year to play playoff hockey."

Laviolette reflected on some similarities from his 2006 Stanley Cup-winning Hurricanes roster and this current Rangers group which features high-end skill, excellent goaltending, and a balance of sharp veterans with an influx of budding youth.

And while every team presents a different challenge and the game itself has greatly evolved since 2006, Laviolette will look to blend the makeup of the Rangers' exceptional skill with his demands of introducing new habits and a more committed work ethic.

"When you watch the playoff games right now, the final four and the final two, it's just a reminder that the complete inside the game is what makes teams great," Laviolette said. "It drives them to success. I don't think that that's something that you can just ask for. You have to practice that on a daily basis. It has to become part of your identity and part of who you are. It has to start in training camp and be held to a level of accountability. When you have that and you have the skill, teams push on, they win Stanley Cups and they become really good hockey teams."

With a busy few weeks on deck as the NHL Draft takes place next week in Nashville and NHL Free Agency commences on July 1, Laviolette will look to continue rounding out his staff and continuing his efforts to establish lines of communication with his players. Just before his press conference, Laviolette shared how he had just met defenseman Adam Fox and has already been in touch with a few others.

And while training camp and the 2023-24 season will arrive in no time, Tuesday marked the start of a new horizon for the team and signaled that there's much to look forward to with Laviolette behind the bench.

"The players that are here in place and the team that we have is really exciting," Laviolette said. "To be able to come back to the city of New York and to be able to coach a team like this, it's really exciting. To be able to get that opportunity, I'm really excited about it."