New York Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette is gearing up for a return to the nation's capital. His Rangers travel to Capital One Arena for a date with the Washington Capitals on Saturday. This game will be Laviolette's first in Washington DC since his contract with the Caps expired this past summer.

Washington had some success under the veteran head coach, making the playoffs in two of his three years in charge. However, they never made it out of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. With Laviolette's contract expiring, the two sides agreed to part ways. And there doesn't appear to be any hard feelings.

On Friday, the former Capitals head coach had a chance to reflect on his time with the team. “My time in Washington was really good,” Laviolette said, via NHL.com. “I worked with some really good players and a really good city for a really good organization.”

“I've been fortunate in my career to work in some great places under those circumstances and, at the time, when talking about it, my contract was up and we made a decision just to step back for a second and so we did,” he continued.

Where Capitals, Peter Laviolette are now

Laviolette joined New York this summer after they moved on from Gerard Gallant. The Blueshirts followed up their run to the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals with a disappointing first-round exit in 2023, prompting the change behind the bench.

The Capitals replaced Laviolette with Spencer Carbery. Carbery was an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs prior to this season. He has led the Capitals to a 12-8-3 record to begin the 2023-24 campaign. Meanwhile, the Rangers are red-hot and hold a record of 18-5-1 under Laviolette.

Things didn't work out as hoped with Washington. That said, Laviolette and the Capitals harbor no ill will toward each other. In any event, Saturday night's game certainly could be emotional as a veteran head coach returns to his former city.