"I was extremely disappointed," Laviolette said. "You go there with the expectation to win a gold medal. That's why you go. Our guys are leaving [Philadelphia now] saying they're going to win. When you don't, it's frustrating and disappointing. It was a lot of work."
Four years ago, Laviolette was coaching the Carolina Hurricanes. Now the Flyers' coach, Laviolette will be watching the Olympics from his house in Florida with a different worry: his players' health and well-being.
Four of Laviolette's Flyers will represent their respective countries when the puck drops today to start the men's tournament: Chris Pronger and Mike Richards (Canada), Kimmo Timonen (Finland) and Oskars Bartulis (Latvia).
"Do I wish I had [those] players going home to rest? Sure I do," Laviolette said. "In the same sense, I can tell you that it's great hockey. It's the best players in the world that are going out to represent their countries. The hockey is terrific. The Olympics have been around for an awful long time. I'll be excited to watch it. You hope they come home unscathed."
Laviolette, who grew up in suburban Boston, hopes the new Olympic schedule - with three groups of four teams instead of two groups of six teams - will bring back more well-rested players. In Turin, the United States played five games in 6 nights in the preliminary round. With their one quarterfinal matchup (a 4-3 loss to eventual runner-up Finland), the Americans faced off six times in 9 nights.
"It has to help because they're playing two less games," Laviolette explained. "It's a taxing schedule. To go over there, change that many time zones and play - it was a lot compared to what it is this year. There's a big difference in the schedule."
