Not gonna lie, I still have a soft spot for Peter Laviolette. Alain Vigneault is definitely the guy, and Lavy’s time came and went in Philadelphia, but his candor and bluntness was certainly appreciated.

Unfortunately he’s now the Washington Capitals head coach:

The Caps are now two years removed from their Stanley Cup title, and have now gone out in the first round in two consecutive seasons.

Alex Ovechkin is turning 35, T.J. Oshie is turning 34, and John Carlson, Nicklas Backstrom, and Braden Holtby are just on the wrong side of 30 as well, so that core group of players doesn’t have a lot of time left. The window seems to be closing, though they do have some solid younger guys in Jakub Vrana and Tom Wilson. Evgeny Kuznetsov is only 27.

Can’t say I’m in tune with the Caps’ fan base, but the take seems to be that letting Barry Trotz leave was a mistake, and that hiring Lavy gives them a last chance to win another Cup with this roster.

Knowing Laviolette, he’s gonna get some fucking jam in that building down there, like this:

“It’s about as fucking casual as it gets. As casual as it gets. In Boston we said, ‘okay it got mixed into the schedule, let’s turn the page.’ Somebody tell me, what THE FUCK IS THE DIFFERENCE NOW? WHAT’S THE PROBLEM NOW? I wanna see people rip their heart out of their fucking chest this period. And if you don’t, you’re probably not going to like your ice time. Take your first shift, you’ll get it. Earn the second one. I’m not putting up with it. It’s too much horse shit. It’s too much. Don’t allow it.”

Yes sir! I’d play so hard for Peter Laviolette. I’d rip hearts out and earn my ice time.