moonstomper
06-03-2003, 12:29 PM
TSN.ca Staff
6/3/2003
The New York Islanders have fired head coach Peter Laviolette, TSN has learned. He will be replaced by minor league coach Steve Stirling.
Assistant coaches Jacques Laperriere and Kelly Miller have also been relieved of their duties. Greg Cronin, an Islanders assistant coach the last five seasons, will succeed Stirling as head coach in Bridgeport.
"This was a very difficult decision," said Islanders general manager Mike Milbury. "Peter is a very good young coach with an excellent future, and we wish him well.
"We felt a change was necessary for this team to move to the next level and compete for a Stanley Cup. Just making the playoffs is not good enough," continued Milbury. "In Steve Stirling, we are promoting a coach who has developed at the pro level with us during the last six years after an outstanding collegiate coaching career. Our entire organization believed strongly that Steve deserved this chance."
The Islanders finished 35-34-11-2 this season, and made the playoffs. But they were eliminated in five games by the Ottawa Senators in the opening round, losing the final four games after opening with a win. The Islanders were outscored 13-4 in the final four games of the series.
Laviolette was named the head coach of the New York Islanders on May 23, 2001. He made his Islanders and NHL head coaching debuts at Tampa Bay on Oct. 5 and went on to win his next three games, becoming the first coach in NHL history to open his career with four consecutive road wins
Laviolette led the Islanders to the best start in franchise history, going 9-0-1-1 in the first 11 games of the season. En route to the record, Laviolette won six of the first seven games of his NHL head-coaching career (6-0-1-1), becoming the seventh coach in NHL history to do so.
As a rookie head coach, he led the 2001-02 Islanders to the fourth-biggest one-year turnaround in NHL history. The Isles doubled their wins total with 42 victories and posted 96 points and broke an eight-year playoff drought.
Stirling was The Hockey News' Minor Pro Coach of the Year in 2001-2002 after taking the Islanders' AHL affiliate in Bridgeport to the Calder Cup Final. Last season Bridgeport advanced to the second round after a three-game sweep of Manchester. In his two seasons with the Sound Tigers, Stirling had a record of 83-51-19-7.
In his six years in the Islanders organization, Stirling spent two seasons as head coach in Bridgeport, three seasons as an assistant in Lowell (AHL) and one as a pro scout. When Lorne Henning served as interim head coach in the 2000-01 season, Stirling was his assistant.
He joined the Islanders after a successful career as a college coach. Under then-athletic director Lou Lamoriello, Stirling coached Providence to the 1985 NCAA Final.
Surrounding his two seasons at Providence were two stints as head coach at Babson College where he was twice named Division II/III Coach of the year.
His 15-year collegiate head coaching record is 290-129-28. As a player, Stirling was captain of the 1971 NBAA champion Boston University Terriers and played pro at the AHL level and in Europe
6/3/2003
The New York Islanders have fired head coach Peter Laviolette, TSN has learned. He will be replaced by minor league coach Steve Stirling.
Assistant coaches Jacques Laperriere and Kelly Miller have also been relieved of their duties. Greg Cronin, an Islanders assistant coach the last five seasons, will succeed Stirling as head coach in Bridgeport.
"This was a very difficult decision," said Islanders general manager Mike Milbury. "Peter is a very good young coach with an excellent future, and we wish him well.
"We felt a change was necessary for this team to move to the next level and compete for a Stanley Cup. Just making the playoffs is not good enough," continued Milbury. "In Steve Stirling, we are promoting a coach who has developed at the pro level with us during the last six years after an outstanding collegiate coaching career. Our entire organization believed strongly that Steve deserved this chance."
The Islanders finished 35-34-11-2 this season, and made the playoffs. But they were eliminated in five games by the Ottawa Senators in the opening round, losing the final four games after opening with a win. The Islanders were outscored 13-4 in the final four games of the series.
Laviolette was named the head coach of the New York Islanders on May 23, 2001. He made his Islanders and NHL head coaching debuts at Tampa Bay on Oct. 5 and went on to win his next three games, becoming the first coach in NHL history to open his career with four consecutive road wins
Laviolette led the Islanders to the best start in franchise history, going 9-0-1-1 in the first 11 games of the season. En route to the record, Laviolette won six of the first seven games of his NHL head-coaching career (6-0-1-1), becoming the seventh coach in NHL history to do so.
As a rookie head coach, he led the 2001-02 Islanders to the fourth-biggest one-year turnaround in NHL history. The Isles doubled their wins total with 42 victories and posted 96 points and broke an eight-year playoff drought.
Stirling was The Hockey News' Minor Pro Coach of the Year in 2001-2002 after taking the Islanders' AHL affiliate in Bridgeport to the Calder Cup Final. Last season Bridgeport advanced to the second round after a three-game sweep of Manchester. In his two seasons with the Sound Tigers, Stirling had a record of 83-51-19-7.
In his six years in the Islanders organization, Stirling spent two seasons as head coach in Bridgeport, three seasons as an assistant in Lowell (AHL) and one as a pro scout. When Lorne Henning served as interim head coach in the 2000-01 season, Stirling was his assistant.
He joined the Islanders after a successful career as a college coach. Under then-athletic director Lou Lamoriello, Stirling coached Providence to the 1985 NCAA Final.
Surrounding his two seasons at Providence were two stints as head coach at Babson College where he was twice named Division II/III Coach of the year.
His 15-year collegiate head coaching record is 290-129-28. As a player, Stirling was captain of the 1971 NBAA champion Boston University Terriers and played pro at the AHL level and in Europe