TSN is reporting that the Flyers have been granted permission by the Carolina Hurricanes to hire former Hurricanes’ coach Peter Laviolette to replace John Stevens.
According to the report, Laviolette is expected to make his coaching debut on Saturday, as the Flyers take on the Washington Capitals.
US born, Laviolette has a career coaching record of 244-188 and earned a Stanley Cup championship with the Hurricanes in 2005-06. He was fired by the Hurricanes in 2008-09.
However, Laviolette’s personal philsophy may clash with the Flyers’. In an interview with THN, Laviolette explained why he banned his team from fighting in the post season.
“I have a very strict no-fighting policy for our team,” LHe said. “Last year in the playoffs Mike Commodore got into a fight and I said, ‘OK, that’s it. No more fighting.’ I simply cannot afford to lose a player like Mike Commodore to an injury he may sustain in a fight.
“Take a guy like Erik Cole. If we allowed him to fight, I know he would do it. Now if he gets hurt in a fight, our team has lost a very valuable asset. How do I justify that? I can’t. It just doesn’t make sense to me to allow our guys to fight.”
Lets hope he talks to Holmgren before implementing that in Philly.
Phila.Bright 