Isles Name Laviolette Coach

Archived from 2000-01 season.

The New York Islanders named Peter Laviolette as their new head coach. He replaces Butch Goring, who was fired in March.

"I want to win and I want to bring people back into the building and I want to give them a reason to stand up and cheer," Laviolette said. "Those are my only major concerns right now."

Laviolette has had no prior head coaching experience in the NHL. He faces a difficult task as the Islanders, who were once the league's proudest franchise and won four straight Stanley Cups from 1980-83, have missed the playoffs for seven straight seasons.

"One of my fears is losing," Laviolette said. "I don't want to lose, ever. I want to win every game we play. If you don't have the fear of losing, then the game doesn't mean anything. If you don't care and you don't fear that, then you just play it for fun. I don't want to play anything for fun, I want to win."

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