Laviolette to coach US team at world championships
Longtime NHL coach Peter Laviolette will lead Team USA at the IIHF World Championships next month in Minsk, Belarus.
His assistants will be Joe Sacco, Phil Housley and Don Granato, USA Hockey announced Tuesday. Laviolette was an assistant coach for the U.S. at the Sochi Games in February.
In October, Laviolette was fired by the Philadelphia Flyers after the team started the season with three straight losses. This was on the heels of missing the playoffs in a lockout-shortened season. He led the Flyers to the 2010 Stanley Cup finals, where they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games.
Laviolette won the Stanley Cup coaching the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and previously coached the New York Islanders.
Team USA opens world championships on May 9 against Belarus.
