Are some Flyers fans off-base by calling Laviolette a pacifist?

Perhaps. Laviolette is a damn good coach, and is good at developing offensive schemes. Staying out of the box obviously will help the GAA. I don't think Laviolette will completely remove all sorts of rough stuff (that wouldn't be utilizing his ets well), though I think he will try and get his tough guys to play "smarter" hockey. I hope he can also help install some leadership on this team... the team has looked pretty lost and uninspired. Perhaps there are locker room problems (who knows, just speculating)?