A one-year hiatus comes to an end.
After a year-long hiatus and interest from multiple NHL teams, a successful former Philadelphia Flyers coach has chosen his new club.
On Monday afternoon, according to multiple reports, former Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette will become the next head coach of the Los Angeles Kings, marking his seventh different stop around the league.
Laviolette, 61, last coached the New York Rangers in the 2024-25, guiding the team to a disappointing 39-36-7 finish.
In 2023-24, Laviolette and the Rangers won the Presidents' Trophy, going 55-23-4 with a league-leading 114 points.
Given where things stand with the Rangers today, it's fair to say that the issues were more attributable to a toxic environment in New York and a lack of talent than anything else.
Previously, Laviolette was reported to be in the mix for the Toronto Maple Leafs' ongoing coaching search, though his recent appointment by the Kings will force the Maple Leafs to look elsewhere.
Purely in terms of winning now and maximizing the current roster, Laviolette would have been an ideal choice for the Maple Leafs, who are casting a wide net in their coaching search.
Names like recently retired star forward Joe Pavelski have been linked to the Maple Leafs in recent days.
Now that Laviolette remains out of the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference, the Flyers will have no reason to concern themselves with where their former coach landed.
As for the Flyers, they own the Maple Leafs' 2028 first-round pick as things stand, though that could change to 2027 depending on Toronto's decision on which pick to give the Atlantic Division rival Boston Bruins.
With Laviolette out of the picture, the Maple Leafs are more likely to fall victim to themselves and/or inexperienced coaching, which would assuredly be a welcomed boon for the Flyers.