Laviolette agrees to extension with Flyers

August 1, 2012

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The Phillies delivered bad news Tuesday with the trades of outfielders Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence. Fast foward a day later, and the Flyers have good news.


Peter Laviolette will continue to be the head coach of the Flyers through the 2014-2015 season.

GM Paul Holmgren announced Wednesday morning that both sides have agreed to a multi-year contract extension, which was later revealed to be for two-years by CSNPhilly.com's Tim Panaccio.

Laviolette's run as the Flyers' coach makes his contract extension anything but a surprise.

Since replacing John Stevens as head coach back on December 4, 2009, Laviolette has a winning regular season record of 122-73-26.

After taking over the head coaching job, Laviolette led the Flyers to the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals.

The path to the finals can best be described as the road less traveled by, as the Flyers had to clinch the last playoff spot on the last day of the season in a shootout against the Rangers, and beat the Bruins in the semi-finals already down 3-0. Yet it was one of the most memorable playoff runs in NHL history.

In his first full season as the Flyers' coach (2010-2011), they won the Atlantic Division, and beat the Buffalo Sabres in seven games in the first round of the playoffs.

Then there last season, when the Flyers had their run-ins with the hated cross state rival Pittsburgh Penguins.

Two weeks before the end of the season, the Flyers faced the Penguins in Pittsburgh. The Flyers won 6-4, but Pens coach Dan Bylsma sent his checking line out at the end of the game with the intention of hurting someone. Danny Briere was that someone.

Not only did fights breakout on the ice, but on the bench to. Laviolette, now famously, stood up on top of his bench and yelled over to the Penguins bench, with assistant coach Craig Berube holding him back to keep him from going over there.

Both teams met again in the first round of the playoffs, and the Flyers frustrated and eliminated the Penguins in six games.

Before he coached the Flyers, Laviolette served as the New York Islanders head coach from 2001 to 2003 and as the Carolina Hurricanes head coach from 2005 to 2009, leading Carolina to the Stanley Cup in 2006 when they beat Edmonton in seven games.