Monday, July 3, 2000

Laviolette heads to Boston

  Boston Bruins President and General Manager Harry Sinden announced Friday that Peter Laviolette has been hired as an assistant coach on head coach Pat Burns' staff, joining fellow assistant Jacques Lapperriere in Boston.

  The 35-year-old Laviolette, who led the P-Bruins to more wins than any club in AHL history and to the franchise's first Calder Cup in 1999, spent two seasons at the helm in Providence, compiling a regular-season record of 89-61-10 (.609 winning percentage). Laviolette also led Providence to the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals, where the team came within one victory of a return trip to the Finals.

  The P-Bruins' record-breaking 1998-99 campaign earned Laviolette the Louis A.R. Pieri Award as the AHL's Outstanding Coach, the first P-Bruins coach to be so honored. Providence led the AHL with a 56-16-4-4 record and 120 points in '98-99.

  "It was my recommendation to Harry (Sinden) and Mike (O'Connell) that we bring Peter on board to our coaching staff," said Burns. "He's done an outstanding job the last couple of years in Providence. I feel that he's good head coaching material as soon as he gets up and gains that (NHL) experience. He's going to learn quickly and he'll have a couple of experienced people to help him along. It's only good for Peter, the team and definitely the organization for the future."

  "Although I will miss being a part of the Providence Bruins organization, I am truly excited to join Pat Burns' staff in Boston and am looking forward to training camp," said Laviolette. "I will carry with me memories of all the excitement around our team in Providence and our dedicated fans. I feel very lucky to have been a part of such a special group of players, staff and fans in Providence. I will miss all of them."

  Laviolette became the fifth head coach in Providence Bruins history on July 15, 1998, taking over a team that finished last in the AHL the previous season. The Franklin, Mass. native engineered the largest single-season turnaround in AHL history (70 points), while bringing the Calder Cup to the city of Providence for the first time since the Providence Reds championship season of 1956. The '98-99 P-Bruins won an AHL-record 71 of 99 games, while smashing 38 team and League records.

  Laviolette has played more games (252) than any player in P-Bruins history and in 1992-93 was named the team's first captain. He was the Bruins' player/assistant coach under Bob Francis during the 1996-97 season and was voted the team's Best Defenseman in the '95-96 campaign. A leader throughout his career, Laviolette captained the 1994 US Olympic Team, the '92-93 P-Bruins, the '91-92 Binghamton Rangers and the '88-89 Denver Rangers. He began his coaching career with the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers in 1997-98 and led the club to a 37-24-9 record and a trip to the Kelly Cup Semifinals. The trip to the ECHL Final Four marked the farthest Wheeling had advanced in four years.