Source: Laviolette "definitely" a top candidate if Isles make coaching change. Me: Move quickly then. He'll have other offers.
— Chris Botta (@ChrisBottaNHL) December 6, 2013
That there tweet from Chris Botta of SportsBusiness Journal comes on the heels of yet another loss for the New York Islanders (8-16-5), who are now winless in their last eight under head coach Jack Capuano.
Peter Laviolette, you may or may not recall, coached the Isles for two seasons (01-02 and 02-03), leading them to the playoffs in both seasons before being fired by former general manager Mike Milbury.
“I’m not talking about strictly the results,” Milbury said at the time. “I’m talking about a methodology in coaching and communication with players. If you don’t have it, it’s pretty tough to succeed. And it looked to me as if it had been lost.”
Laviolette went on to win the Stanley Cup as Carolina’s coach. He was fired by the Flyers earlier this season.
Of course, how seriously Isles GM Garth Snow is actually considering a coaching change remains to be seen. On Sunday, Snow was reportedly not ready to relieve Capuano of his duties. But the pressure is obviously building to do something, be it fire the coach or make a trade (say, for a goalie?).
