Binghamton hockey followers, of course, recall when Peter Laviolette made his mark here
Better than half-a-lifetime before he became Boss of the Blueshirts, shot-caller for a sound contender to halt 30 years’ worth of National Hockey League championship drought, Peter Laviolette made a notable mark on Binghamton’s hockey community.
A well-traveled, highly successful coach who this season steered the New York Rangers to the franchise’s first Presidents’ Cup Trophy since 2015, Laviolette will on Thursday lead the team in Game 3 of a second-round playoff series against Carolina. New York’s 6-0 postseason record is a franchise first since winning the 1994 Stanley Cup.
Laviolette played 115 games across the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons for the American Hockey League’s Binghamton Rangers as a determined defenseman who came up with 16 goals and 34 assists – but decidedly more in terms of worth to the team.
“He was a real competitive guy and a team guy,” said John Paddock, who coached those 1990-91 B-Rangers. “He was one to rally the team in the dressing room. He cared about the team, and he was a leader of our hockey club.”
And more from Paddock on Laviolette, 59-year-old native of Franklin, Mass.: “Fairly or unfairly, some guys have a certain importance on a team and they’re never going to sit out. Peter was like that for us. He was a real leader on our hockey club that year.”
In March 2004, Laviolette joined former Binghamton Whalers forward Bob Sullivan and former Binghamton Whalers/Rangers medical trainer Jon Smith as members of the Binghamton Hockey Hall of Fame’s seventh induction class.
“Some places you play, you look back and want to forget it. But I like to remember my years in Binghamton,” he said at the time. “I liked being a big fish in a small market where the businesses and fans are always so supportive.
“ … I had lots of laughs and lots of good times in Binghamton. It's a privilege to have people look back and think of me in that kind of light that they'd put me in a hall of fame. Any time somebody acknowledges something you've done, it's special.”
At age 34, he was appointed head coach of the Bruins’ AHL Providence club and guided it to a 56-16-4-4 regular-season record and 11-3 mark through the playoffs to the Calder Cup. From there, his coaching resume and reputation continued to blossom through assorted NHL stints.
More: Game 2 takeaways: Vincent Trocheck wins double OT thriller for Rangers
He piloted the Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup in 2006 and coached the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2010, as well as the Predators in 2017. He is the fourth coach in NHL history to lead three teams to the Stanley Cup Finals.
At present, he is head-to-head with the captain of that 2006 championship team, Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour.
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Memory refresher on Peter Laviolette’s Binghamton hockey ties
