Westfield State Alumnus Peter Laviolette '86 Announced as Head Coach of New York Rangers

Westfield State ice hockey alumnus Peter Laviolette '86 was announced as the next head coach of the New York Rangers, the organization announced on Tuesday, June 13, 2023 after a protracted search.

Laviolette will be making his sixth stop as an NHL head coach, where he has 752 career victories, to be the eighth-winningest coach in NHL history and has the most wins of any American-born coach.   He previously led the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup in 2006, and took the Philadelphia Flyers and Nashville Predators both to the cup finals.   His most recent coaching stop was for three seasons with the Washington Capitals.   Laviolette began his NHL coaching career with the NY Islanders.

Laviolette was inducted into the Westfield State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002, and the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame in 2019.

Laviolette played 12 games for the Rangers in the 1988-89 season as part of an 11-year professional hockey career, which also included two appearances on the US Olympic Team.