PITTSBURGH - Peter Laviolette did his job this NHL Draft weekend. As the head coach of the Flyers, he dutifully stayed in the team's luxury box at Consol Energy Center, shaking the hands of a few talented teenagers.
"That's about it," Laviolette said.
But it's the job Laviolette's done the rest of the year that will soon produce a contract extension for him.
Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren confirmed Saturday that he's been discussing an extension with Laviolette, and expects one to be soon agreed upon.
"I'm not worried about it," Holmgren said. "Obviously I assume in the next few weeks, we'll get something done."
Laviolette, who replaced John Stevens early in the 2009-10 campaign, is entering his fourth season with the team. The Flyers have gone 122-73-26 under him in regular season games and 23-22 in the playoffs. Laviolette's teams have won an Atlantic Division title and made a run to the Stanley Cup Finals. They've gone from bad to nearly great, then were rebuilt in mid-stride. Yet he's only the third coach in franchise history to take a team past the first round of the playoffs three straight years.
The others were Fred Shero and Terry Murray.
"We're very happy with Peter," Holmgren said. "He's done a tremendous job and we're looking forward to more good work from him over the coming years."
If Holmgren stays true to that word, that would put Laviolette in an even more unusual stratosphere - that of an NHL head coach that's actually lasted more than a few short years. But you get the idea he feels he's just getting started.
"We have a lot of young players in place that now have a year's experience," Laviolette said. "It's exciting."
But could it translate into greater postseason success?
"You need to play well. You need to stay healthy. You need some bounces. You need to be consistent. If you get all that into a blender, then you can make the playoffs," he said.
Laviolette, 47, is also a coach that has earned enough respect - and vice-versa - for Holmgren to use as a personnel advisor. Any prep work for personnel moves this week, free agency or trade, will likely include Laviolette's input.
"There's always conversations with regard to July 1, and the players and the team that will possibly come onto the ice next year," Laviolette said with a reference to his relationship with Holmgren. "But that's in Paul's court. Those conversations are there; decisions are made. I think he's done a terrific job."
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Aside from the Flyers' most noteworthy picks in this NHL Draft, that of two-way center Scott Laughton in the first round (20th overall), goalie Anthony Stolarz in the second and offensive defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere in the third round, the Flyers drafted a few more future hopefuls.
In the fourth round, they took Swedish defender Fredrik Larsson with the 111th overall pick and Canadian junior winger Taylor Leier at the 117th spot. They picked big (6-3, 184) junior defender Reese Willcox in the fifth round, skipped the sixth round then took Russian defenseman Valeri Vasiliev in the seventh and final round.
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Elsewhere around Draft Weekend...
Holmgren all-but ruled out the idea of an offer sheet for Nashville restricted free agent Shea Weber and said it's unlikely he'd attempt to trade for the rights of any unrestricted free agent. Doesn't mean he won't be very active come July 1. Among the lower-level defensive options he may have are trading for Phoenix's Keith Yandle and signing pending UFA Justin Schultz. ... Holmgren seems a bit lukewarm on re-signing Jaromir Jagr. He said he spoke recently with Jagr's agent, former Flyer Petr Svoboda, and expects to again soon. Jagr is drawing some interest elsewhere in the league now. ... On speculation that he didn't get done what he wanted to with trade maneuvering, Holmgren said: "I like our roster. If I'd like to add to it or subtract from it, I could through free agency or other avenues. We didn't have any opportunities to do that this year via trade. But who knows what tomorrow will bring?"