The Washington Capitals honored coach Peter Laviolette after practice Wednesday by presenting him with a silver hockey stick to mark his 700th career coaching victory.
Laviolette reached 700 on Feb. 15 when the Caps defeated the Nashville Predators.
Following the presentation, Laviolette expressed humility at the achievement, even though just 10 coaches in the history of the NHL have reached the 700-win plateau.
“Wow. That’s unbelievable,” Laviolette said in a video the team posted to Twitter. “I’ve been really lucky. I’ve worked with a lot of great coaches and a lot of great players, and certainly get to work with that every day here.”
The boys took time to recognize Lavi for his 700th career win this morning before practice#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/andpbLLo6M
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 23, 2022
Laviolette, 57, ranks third among active head coaches in wins (701), trailing the New York Islanders’ Barry Trotz (896) and the New Jersey Devils’ Lindy Ruff (772).
The win against the Predators was Laviolette’s first game in Nashville since previously coaching the Predators from 2014-2020.
Laviolette has also been the head man for the Islanders (2001-03), Carolina Hurricanes (2003-09) and Philadelphia Flyers (2009-14).
–Field Level Media