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NHL Power Rankings: Who is the best head coach in the league?

By Dave Stevenson

Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; A general view of the NHL shield logo before the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; A general view of the NHL shield logo before the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

#11: Peter Laviolette

Peter Laviolette deserves a ton of credit for turning the Nashville Predators from a defensive juggernaut that struggled to score into an overall juggernaut that is among the most complete teams in the NHL. The impressive part about it is it took him less than a season to do it. Usually it takes coaches a little bit to implement their system and find players that fit their system, especially when their system is drastically different from the previous head coaches. That hasn’t been the case with Laviolette, as he has tinkered with his system to make it fit the players.

Laviolette has a Stanley Cup to his name, coaching the 2005-2006 Carolina Hurricanes. He also took the Philadelphia Flyers to the 2010 Stanley Cup finals, where his team ran into the unstoppable force that is the Chicago Blackhawks. Laviolette is an offense-minded head coach. Combine that with the naturally strong defensemen that he inherited from Barry Trotz and Laviolette has the Predators scoring from all over the ice.

Increasing the Predators offense has been very useful for Nashville, as Pekka Rinne has not been himself this season. If Rinne can rebound and the offense continues to score at will, the Predators are going to be a nightmare in the NHL playoffs and Laviolette could win his second Stanley Cup.

Next: #10: Claude Julien

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