The Washington Capitals and head coach Peter Laviolette agreed to “mutually part ways,” the team announced on Friday.

“We are grateful for Peter's leadership and dedication to our organization for the last three seasons,” senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan said in a statement. “Peter is a first-class individual who has represented our club with integrity and guided our team through many difficult circumstances in his tenure as our head coach.

“We wish him all the best moving forward.”

Laviolette agreed to become the Capitals’ 19th head coach in franchise history in Sept. 2020, which came nine months after he was fired as head coach of the Nashville Predators. He put pen to paper on a three-year contract deal with Washington.

Article Continues Below

Laviolette guided the Capitals to a playoff appearance in each of his first two seasons as their head coach, but the team was eliminated in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in both campaigns. Washington is coming off of a season in which it failed to clinch a spot in the playoffs for the first time since the 2013-2014 campaign, as it finished with a 35-37-10 record.

The Capitals had a multitude of injury woes in the 2022-2023 season. Among them, T.J. Oshie (upper body) and Carl Hagelin (hip) suffered season-ending injuries during the latter half of the year.

Overall, Washington ranked in the bottom half of the NHL in both goals per game (3.09) and goals allowed per game (3.18) this season.