This in from Chris Pronger, his assessment that former NHL coach Pete Laviolette would be a good pick to lead the Edmonton Oilers in 2026-27.
Talking to Bob Stauffer on Oilers Now, Pronger described the pros and cons of Laviolette, a coach that Pronger played for on the 2010 Stanley Cup finalist Philadelphia Flyers, but started with his assessment of the need to change in Edmonton.
“Your two top players have said it’s not good enough,” Pronger told Stauffer. “They need to be better. They have taken accountability, which is the first step. Now the coach’s head has gone on the chopping block. And now it’s up to ownership/management, the new coach, whoever that is, and then the players to get on the same page and figure out how to get this thing over the finish line.”
Laviolette
Asked about Laviolette as a coach, Pronger said
“Very detailed, very, he’s got an offensive system which I think when you look at the Oilers, a lot of the commentaries around, they need secondary scoring. They need more than the big guys carrying the load offensively. This system will help that from an offensive standpoint in how they get on the grind game and how they play below the blue line and below the dots. And then from a defensive standpoint, he has defensive structure. He’s going to put players in situations to be successful.”
Pronger continued: “If anything, as we’ve looked at the last couple of years, sometimes you can get by with the offensive weapons you have and your goalies can get hot at certain times of the year. Players can play to their abilities and above at certain moments throughout the course of the year. But it’s the consistency with which you play night in, night out, week after week, month after month that really kind of allow a coach to show his metal and show what they’re all about. And I think for Lavi, yes, he can grind on you at times. I think with some of his motivational stuff and the way he pushes you to compete night in, night out, period after period, shift after shift, he’s on you. But I think at this stage of the game, that’s what that team needs. He’s not a tyrant per se… But he’s going to push you to get the most out of you, you possibly can get. And as we know, and as we’ve seen, that grinds on players that wears players down and they start to tune them out.
“But for that window, you’ve seen the success he’s had in taking teams to Stanley Cup Finals, obviously won with Carolina. We lost in 2010 in Philly. He took Nashville to the Finals. He has a system and he has the ability to get the most out of players in a short period of time, which frankly is what the Oilers need to over the next year or two years to try to get this team over the finish line and win a Stanley Cup.”
Asked about Laviolette’s aggressiv defensive system, Pronger said it’s more than man-to-man. “It’s aggressive, but it’s layers. It’s man on man, but there’s layers. If you’re coming out of the corner, you get beat, there is another layer there, albeit… there’s got to be communication and things of that nature.”
Newly acquired Edmonton Oilers defenceman Chris Pronger tries on his new jersey presented to him by Oilers captain Jason Smith, as Kevin Lowe looks on outside of the Edmonton Oilers head office during a press conference to introduce the the newly signed players.
Laviolette is a good fit in Edmonton, Pronger argued. “To really speak to what that team needs.
From a defensive standpoint with their structure, there will be a learning curve and they will look out of sorts, I think, early on as they try to navigate where they should be on the ice and how they can support one another in a man-to-man situation versus zone like some of these other teams play. And so it’s really about ganging up on the other team in certain moments where you leave your man and you go and help your teammate hopefully get the puck and then go the other way. So there’s moments like that and a lot of that is taught through video, obviously practice and then game situations where early on, they’re going to need to learn on the fly.”
Under Laviolette, the Oilers will not sit back, Pronger said. “We’ll call it offensive forecheck. He is forechecking with five men. You’re pinching a lot, you’re pressing up, you’re utilizing the mobility of your team. And as you look at the current structure of the Oilers, they’ve got a lot of mobile players. Maybe they’re not playing to that level at times… They will be pressing up and forcing all over the ice, offensively, defensively. It is a time and space pressure game in order to create turnovers and utilize their ability to transition and get the puck into their best players’ hands at all times.”
My take
1. I now doubt it that Vegas will free up Bruce Cassidy for the Oilers, as small, radical and lacking in gratitude that is for Vegas management. But that’s where they appear to be heading.
The good news?
Laviolette checks a lot of the same boxes as Cassidy. In fact, he may prove out to be a better choice than Cassidy, as he may be able to exploit Edmonton’s speed more, while still bringing in more effort, focus and fundamental play on defence, more adherence to the defensive system he preaches.
Given VGK’s stall tactics and attitude, I now see Laviolette as the front-runner for the Edmonton job. Stauffer has him at #2 after Cassidy.
2. Stauffer has mentioned Laviolette repeatedly as a possibility to be the Oilers coach.
More good news?
Laviolette’s contract is up in New York, so he’s free to pick his new home after sitting a season after 28 seasons on his own coaching journey and grind.
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