Once the regular season ends next week, don’t expect an immediate decision on Peter Laviolette’s future in Washington. In the latest TSN Insider Trading segment, Pierre LeBrun noted that the belief is that the Capitals will take their time to fully assess the situation while also allowing the veteran bench boss to have some time to ponder his future. The 58-year-old has spent the last three seasons with the Caps and his contract is set to expire so he’ll need to decide if he wants to stick around or see what might be available with another team. While this season has been a tough one, Washington still has a .588 points percentage during Laviolette’s tenure.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Still with the Capitals, winger Alex Ovechkin is listed as a game-time decision due to an upper-body injury, relays NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). The 37-year-old already has reached the 40-goal mark for the 13th time in his career to help him lead the team in scoring with 74 points in 72 games. Meanwhile, winger Anthony Mantha will miss his second straight contest due to a lower-body injury that also kept him out of Thursday’s game in Montreal.
- Philadelphia has returned defenseman Ronnie Attard to Lehigh Valley of the AHL, notes Bill Meltzer of the Flyers’ team site. The 24-year-old played in two games in his recall, his only one of the season. It will be his last promotion as Meltzer adds that Attard will not be brought back up in the final week. Attard has 30 points in 64 games with the Phantoms and will look to help them lock down a playoff spot in the coming days.