STAMFORD, Conn. — For a handful of the Rangers, new head coach Peter Laviolette’s reputation has preceded him.
Each of the four Rangers who were in attendance at the Shoulder Check Showcase charity event on Thursday — Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Adam Fox and Barclay Goodrow — said they had already spoken to their new head coach in advance of the start of training camp in September.
Though they all had brief conversations with their new bench boss, the aforementioned skaters noted that Laviolette’s track record around the NHL makes him less of an enigma.
“Everything I’ve heard, he’s a great coach,” Fox told The Post before taking the ice for the event at Terry Conners Ice Rink, which featured several other NHL stars and benefitted the #HT40 Foundation an organization that fosters social connectedness. “Obviously, you learn more about him as you actually play for someone. Seems like a pretty straightforward guy.”
The Rangers are the sixth NHL club since 2001 for which Laviolette has been the head coach.
He previously made stops with the Islanders, Carolina, Philadelphia, Nashville and Washington.
While word of what it’s like to play for Laviolette has gone around the NHL, these Rangers know firsthand what it’s like to play against his teams.
the 2022-23 season.
“My impression is that his teams have always been very hard to play,” Kreider said. “Obviously, recently remember the Washington team, but even more so those Nashville teams [were] incredibly hard to play against.”
Laviolette spent the past three seasons coaching the Capitals, during which the organization compiled a 115-78-27 record, was plagued by injuries and an inablity to make it out of the first round of the playoffs, as well as failing to qualify for the postseason this past season.
The previous six seasons, which he spent coaching the Predators, however, were much more successful.
The Predators finished first in their division twice under Laviolette. They were also crowned Western Conference champions on their way to a Stanley Cup Final loss in 2017.
Additionally, during his time in Nashville, Laviolette and his staff were chosen to coach in the 2015 NHL All-Star Game for having the highest point percentage in the NHL at that time.
Zibanejad, Kreider and Fox are all on their third head coach in the last four seasons, so it’s safe to say that the three are accustomed to coming into training camp and hearing a new voice in the locker room.
They agreed with the sentiment that they’ll likely come into training camp not only more prepared for some changes, but also ready to learn.
“Personally, in terms of my game, I hope I should be able to play the same way,” Zibanejad said when asked if anything changes for him under such circumstances. “Obviously, it’s going to be probably a different structure-wise and the way he wants the team to play. I’m sure he knows most of us and how we play and how we can use our strengths through the system and go from there.
“When we come into training camp, we’ll see how it is. I don’t expect my game to change by any means like that, but definitely some change in the team structure.”
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