With a career record of 674-440-25-128, Laviolette passed Tortorella in 116 fewer games coached. Laviolette's 674 wins rank 12th in NHL history and sixth among active head coaches. Laviolette is currently 26 wins shy of becoming the 10th coach in NHL history to reach 700 career wins.
Last season, Laviolette set a franchise record with a .688 points percentage (36-15-5), the highest points percentage by a first-year head coach in franchise history. Laviolette has improved his respective team's point percentage from the season prior to his arrival at all five franchise's he's coached in his career. During the 2020-21 season, the Caps were tied for fourth in the NHL in goals (188) and their 3.36 goals per game average marked the second-highest average by the team in the last 10 seasons.
Laviolette became the fourth American-born coach to win the Stanley Cup in 2006 with Carolina. In his career, Laviolette has led 12 teams to postseason appearances and has an overall record of 76-72 in the playoffs. Laviolette is the fourth coach in NHL history to lead three different teams to the Stanley Cup Final (Carolina: 2006; Philadelphia: 2010; Nashville: 2017), joining Dick Irvin, Scotty Bowman and Mike Keenan.
After recording 268 points (78g-190a) in 594 minor-league games in the American and International hockey leagues (Indianapolis, Colorado, Denver, Flint, Binghamton, Providence and San Diego) from 1986-97, and appearing in 12 games for the New York Rangers in 1988-89, Laviolette began his coaching career with the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers in 1997. After posting a 37-24-9 record and reaching the conference finals in his rookie coaching season, he was hired as head coach of the AHL's Providence Bruins, and led the team to an AHL-best 56-16-4-4 record and a Calder Cup in 1998-99, just one season after the team had gone 19-49-7-5 and finished last in the league. Following the 1999-2000 season, the 1999 AHL Coach of the Year was promoted to assistant coach of the parent Boston Bruins, which he held for a single campaign (2000-01) before starting his NHL head coaching career with the Islanders in 2001-02.
