SerpApi.Org
In the upcoming 2026-27 season, the Los Angeles Kings will be entering a new era behind the bench with veteran head coach Peter Laviolette taking over in LA.
Laviolette is one of the more established and successful head coaches in the NHL, having coached over 1,500 regular season games, winning a Stanley Cup Championship, and making three trips to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Despite his extensive track record, Laviolette finds himself squarely in the middle of the pack in a recent ranking of all 32 head coaches in the NHL from The Hockey News.
Laviolette slotted in at No. 15 overall in this ranking, putting the new Kings' head coach almost right in the middle of the league entering his first season in Los Angeles this fall.
Peter Laviolette has a chance to outperform his No. 15 ranking with the LA Kings
While Laviolette's career accomplishments are very impressive, the last time he won the Stanley Cup Finals was with the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2005-06 season (which is now over 20 seasons ago). While his teams have made the playoffs over 10 times since 2010, Laviolette has only advanced past the first round of the postseason once in the past eight years.
His tenure with the New York Rangers was characterized by a rapid succession of highs and lows. Laviolette took the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2024 after leading New York to a first-place finish in the division with 114 points in the regular season.
But his time with the Rangers ended almost as quickly as it started, with Laviolette getting fired after New York missed the playoffs in 2025.
The Hockey News characterized Laviolette as a "journeyman", which is a fitting characteristic given that he's now coached four different teams in this decade. He's facing a big challenge this upcoming season to help move a Kings team into the post-Anze Kopitar era.
He's shown the ability to make an immediate impact in new head coaching stops throughout his career, most recently leading the Rangers to 114 points and the Eastern Conference Finals in his first year in New York in 2024. He'll face a similar challenge with the Kings this upcoming season, where the franchise is transitioning into the post-Kopitar era while still being expected to contend immediately.
Laviolette's ranking at No. 15 feels like a reflection of where he currently sits rather than what he's accomplished throughout his coaching career in the NHL. His resume does speak for itself, but the Kings didn't necessarily hire Laviolette because of what he accomplished with other franchises. He was instead hired to help a veteran roster take the next step and find postseason success in the Western Conference that has eluded the Kings in this decade.
If Laviolette can lead the Kings on a deeper postseason run while guiding the franchise through the transition into the post-Kopitar era, he will quickly show that No. 15 was too low. With an experienced roster built to compete immediately, the expectations will be high from the moment the puck drops on the upcoming season this fall for Laviolette and staff.
Today's best reads
- LA Kings' home opener vs. Florida will be an early measuring stick
- LA Kings earn impressive spot in ranking of NHL's best winger groups
- Ranking the 3 best LA Kings centers of the 2000s
- Los Angeles Kings 2025-26 Report Card: Grading Jared Wright's season
- 3 most impactful departures for the LA Kings this offseason
This article was originally published on rinkroyalty.com as Peter Laviolette lands middle-of-the-pack spot in NHL head coach ranking.
