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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: OILERS v HURRICANES

June 9, 2006

Peter Laviolette

EDMONTON, ALBERTA: Practice Day

Q. Craig MacTavish likened your team to carbon monoxide.
COACH PETER LAVIOLETTE: I heard.

Q. You consider that a compliment?
COACH PETER LAVIOLETTE: I am not sure. I am not sure.

Q. He basically said, "You don't sense them, but they are lethal in a way." I guess meaning you come under the radar, something like that.
COACH PETER LAVIOLETTE: I don't know, we have won a lot of games to be under the radar, I think. I think we played pretty consistent all year, so I am -- I don't know what to make of that. I don't know whether it's a compliment or not.

Q. Congratulations to be up two and halfway to where you want to be. Through the course of the season did you or any of the guys have a laugh at all or any fun with the Stillman-Commodore dynamic both playing for the Cup and just obviously now teammates, but one had to deny the other the last time, and just where they are at as a twosome and just anything you can reflect on regarding those two and the Cup?
COACH PETER LAVIOLETTE: Well, I think when we picked up both those players, we got guys with Stanley Cup experience obviously and Stiller, having won the last game, is a defending Stanley Cup champ. Nothing really came up through the course of the year where -- I think they are actually both pretty easy to get along with in the locker room, both well liked very much by their teammates and I would say that each other as well -- the fact that one was in Calgary and one was with Tampa Bay, I don't think that that held over at all into this season, whatsoever.
But I would, you know, as far as both of them coming to this team they have both been big components of our success. Mike Commodore has become a mainstay on our blue line, paired with Bret Hedican for quite some time now and handling heavy duties defensively. Not only that I think he's a really likable person even from the entire organization and the fans' point of view. I think he's become a big part of our team, a big identity of it.
Cory Stillman I think I said this the last couple of days, although he doesn't seem to get the ink that others do, he's been very quietly one of our most valuable players and leading scorer in the playoffs. He's actually having I think he was seventh leading scorer in the league when we picked him up as a free agent. I think his numbers are actually better this year on a point-per-game basis but he battled some injuries. He's been very effective in the regular season offensively. He's contributed but more importantly offensively he's made other people better and the same can be said for the playoffs.

Q. If your team were to go on and win the Cup it would be two consecutive Stanley Cup championships won by American-born coaches, which might actually be a first. It's something we're looking up. I am wondering if that's meaningful to you in any way in the sense that U.S.-born coaches having an impact and coming up through the U.S.A. Hockey program and all that.
COACH PETER LAVIOLETTE: I am certainly proud to be a U.S. born coach. I don't really think it makes a statement one way or the other. I think John Tortorella is an excellent coach and he had a terrific year. I don't think he over achieved in Tampa but I think he built that down there or helped build that down there in Tampa, now they are not considered off the map anymore and I think he's a big part of that.
I haven't thought about it, I think in the way you are asking the question, other than the fact that I am proud to be a U.S.-born coach, and I am very proud to have worked with U.S.A. Hockey and hope to again.

Q. Who are your big coaching influences guys that who either coached you or you coached with and have given you a lot in terms of what you use now as a coach?
COACH PETER LAVIOLETTE: Sounds kind of corny, but I think the biggest influences in a lot of peoples lives and certainly in mine are your parents; character and integrity and your upbringing what you believe in, what you stand for, how you present yourself all things that you take when you are very young. Great family, family atmosphere, family environment, love. So I think you get a lot of that from your home life.
As far as hockey goes I think you can take a little bit from a lot of different people. My high school coach was a tremendous competitor. I think you could learn a lot from him about just competing what it takes to win and be successful. His name was Bob Luccini.
Tim Taylor, the ex-coach from Yale and Olympic coach, is brilliant man a guy that thinks hockey all the time.
I got in the door from Bobby Francis as a player-assistant coach and ended up getting hurt, and during that year and it went from playing mostly to coaching mostly just kind of went in the office and watched him and how he prepared and how he handled players and how he organized himself, how he conducted practice. I think a lot of times you just learn different things, I think as far as systems go, you pick up different pieces of what you like along the way and that can change also. I don't think you come in knowing exactly how you want to play and you stick with it for the rest of your life. I think you make adjustments and changes along the way.
I like the way our team plays. It's the way I believe in and the way that they believe in now as well that they can find us some success. But I think different people can influence you in that manner as far as coaching, but ultimately I don't think you can be somebody who you are not, and I never try to be. If anything, the best resemblance that I have are my parents.

Q. You mentioned Bret Hedican earlier, can you talk about what he brings to the team as a top two defensemen very quietly. And if you had any knowledge coming into the season about how physically difficult it had been for him to get to the point where he was at training camp and what that has been like throughout the year?
COACH PETER LAVIOLETTE: I think he battled some injuries through the lockout. I think he wasn't sure if he could come back from these injuries and play and neither were we. He ended up being at training camp in great shape and has had maybe one of his best years, I don't -- I didn't work with him for a long time in the past but certainly right now he's at the top of his game. He's been there all year.
Again it's hard for us to say, you know, eight top defensemen for us because we do it by committee, but he has been very consistent with his game and a valuable contributor to where we're at right now with the way he plays the game, his leadership on the ice, his experience, he's been to the Finals. I think one of his biggest assets, especially the way the game is being played right now, is his speed and his ability to skate, get the puck, move it up to the forwards, contribute offensively and then conversely to be able to skate, to play defense and take away time and space, but another big reason why we're sitting where we are today.

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