Peter Laviolette isn’t looking to reinvent the wheel, as the second-year Rangers head coach put it, with his plans to prepare his team for the 2024-25 season.
Coming off a campaign that resulted in the most wins in the NHL and the Presidents’ Trophy, why would he?
The numbers and accolades attached to Laviolette’s first season behind the Blueshirts bench speak for themselves, which has the veteran coach sticking to his philosophies.
“I’m being honest here, we never talked about [winning the Presidents’ Trophy],” he said in his preseason news conference with reporters in Tarrytown on Wednesday. “It wasn’t something that was written up on the board. The goal was always to have good days, to focus on the wins and try to get better, try to become better as you’re moving along.
“Try to win hockey games, you know, as many as we could — but doing it on a short-term basis of attacking each day and making the most of each day. Nothing will change from that. That’d be great to get the same number of wins or more wins, but there’s 31 other teams that want to have a say in that as well. Sometimes I think it’s best to just bring it back and really keep it simple and just focus on the daily basis.
“Keep it more short-term, maybe set some short-term goals, more than one game — which we do inside the room. That helps keep the focus inside of what we’re doing in what can be a very long year.”
Only six teams — the Flames, Stars, Red Wings, Oilers, Canucks and Capitals — have won the Presidents’ Trophy in consecutive seasons.
Three of those clubs — Edmonton, Calgary and Dallas — have hoisted the Stanley Cup along with their second straight Presidents’ Trophy.
“Every team would like to think there’s a next step, but there’s not always a next step,” said Laviolette, who won his lone Stanley Cup ring with the Hurricanes in 2006. “I think it’s really important for us to focus on the growth of the team, the work you put in daily. We were really good at that last year.
“But this is a new year, this is a new team. This group now needs to focus on the work that they put in daily. If you do enough good work through the course of a season, you can build a game and build confidence that can take you into the playoffs and find success.”
Laviolette said he envisions newcomer Reilly Smith, who the Rangers acquired from the Penguins in July, getting a look as the top right wing.
“He’s a really good pickup and a really good player for us to add to the mix,” he said of Smith. “Inside of the offense and the top nine, a guy that’s proven to be successful and a winner. I think anytime you can add a piece like that to the lineup that’s a real positive. Training camp is about to unfold, yes he will get a look there. But it’s training camp also, I don’t want to box people out or box things out on Day 1.”