| Ian Laperrière | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Laperrière with theColorado Avalanche in 2007 | |||
| Born | (1974-01-19)January 19, 1974 (age 51) Montreal, Quebec, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing/Center | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | St. Louis Blues New York Rangers Los Angeles Kings Colorado Avalanche Philadelphia Flyers | ||
| CurrentAHL coach | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | ||
| Coached for | Philadelphia Flyers (assistant) | ||
| NHL draft | 158th overall,1992 St. Louis Blues | ||
| Playing career | 1993–2010 | ||
| Coaching career | 2013–present | ||
Ian Laperrière (born January 19, 1974) is aCanadian-American former professionalice hockeywinger who played 16 seasons in theNational Hockey League (NHL) and serves as the current head coach for theLehigh Valley Phantoms, theAmerican Hockey League affiliate and primary development team for thePhiladelphia Flyers of the NHL.
Laperrière spent nine seasons of his NHL career with theLos Angeles Kings and also played with theSt. Louis Blues,New York Rangers,Colorado Avalanche, and Philadelphia Flyers prior to his 2012 retirement.
As a youth, Laperrière played in the 1988Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with aminor ice hockey team fromMontreal.[1]
Laperrière played in theQuebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) from 1990 to 1993 and was drafted by theSt. Louis Blues of the NHL in the seventh round and pick number 158 in the 1992 draft. He made his NHL debut with the Blues on March 3, 1994. On December 8, 1995, he was traded to theNew York Rangers forStéphane Matteau. On March 14, 1996, he was traded withRay Ferraro,Mattias Norström,Nathan LaFayette, and a draft pick to theLos Angeles Kings in exchange forJari Kurri,Marty McSorley andShane Churla. Laperrière was a mainstay on the Kings roster from 1996 until 2004. On July 2, 2004, Laperrière signed a free agent contract with the Colorado Avalanche.[2]
Laperrière, affectionately known as 'Lappy' to his fans, was an immediate success with Colorado in the2005–06 NHL season, posting the best points totals of his career. He scored 21 goals and 24 assists for 45 points, far ahead of his previous bests of 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points in the lockout-shortened1994–95 NHL season. He quickly became a favorite with the Avalanche fans.
Laperrière scored the 100th goal of his career on October 29, 2006, against theMinnesota Wild.[3] He also passed 800 career games on November 28, against theCalgary Flames in a 5–2 loss.
On April 1, 2009, Laperrièrefought withDavid Hale of thePhoenix Coyotes for his 52ndhockey fight in an Avalanche jersey, passingScott Parker in all-time franchise fighting majors. He was announced as the Avalanches'Masterton Trophy nominee for the2008–09 season on April 3, 2009.[4][5] He played in his1000th NHL game on April 11, 2009, against theVancouver Canucks in a 0–1 home overtime loss.[6][7] He led the team that year with 163 penalty minutes, just one more minute thanCody McLeod.
Unable to agree to a new deal with the Avalanche, Laperrière signed a three-year contract with thePhiladelphia Flyers on July 1, 2009.[8][9]
On November 27, 2009, Laperrière was hit with a slapshot in the mouth while killing a penalty at the end of the first period against theBuffalo Sabres. He sat out the second period receiving between 50 and 100 stitches but returned for the third period. He also played the following night against theAtlanta Thrashers. Laperrière lost seven teeth resulting from the incident (two fake and five real).[10] A similar event occurred during the2010 Stanley Cup playoffs on April 22. Laperrière was hit in the face near the end of a New Jerseypower play, resulting in anorbital injury, and amild concussion. Laperrière was listed as out indefinitely and his return to the playoffs was considered unlikely.[11] However, after missing the Flyers second round series versus theBoston Bruins, he returned for game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against theMontreal Canadiens.[12] In the May 2010 edition ofThe Hockey News, Laperrière was awarded THN'sJohn Ferguson Award for "Toughest Player in the NHL" in the2009–10 season.[13]
During training camp in September 2010, Laperrière experienced symptoms ofpost-concussion syndrome and nerve damage to his eyes from being hit in the face twice by pucks the previous season. He was then out for the entire 2010–11 season after being put on injured reserve before the season began and then on long-term injured reserve in mid-December to free up salary cap space. Doctors advised Laperrière to retire, although he did not do so at the time.[14][15] The move was repeated again for the2011–12 season to free up cap space when Laperrière's symptoms still had not subsided. His number 14 was reissued to rookieSean Couturier. Despite never playing again after the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, Laperrière continued to serve the Flyers off the ice as a mentor to younger players in the organization and in other capacities. For that, Laperrière was awarded the 2011Bill Masterton Trophy for his perseverance in the sport of hockey. Laperrière officially retired June 12, 2012.[16]
On June 29, 2012, Laperrière was named director of player development for thePhiladelphia Flyers.[17] The following year, in 2013, he also began serving as an assistant coach for the Flyers.
On June 5, 2021, Laperrière was named head coach of theLehigh Valley Phantoms, theAmerican Hockey League affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and the primary development team for the Flyers..[18]
Laperrière is married to Magali and has two sons: Tristan, born in March 2002, and Zachary, born in April 2004.[19][20]
He was sworn in as a naturalized American citizen on August 30, 2011, in a ceremony inMount Laurel, New Jersey.[21]
Following his retirement from hockey, he turned his attention totriathlon completing theIronman North American Championship atMont-Tremblant in theLaurentian Mountains in 12 hours, 11 minutes, 55 seconds on August 19, 2013.[22] He also ran thePhiladelphia Marathon in 2012.[23]
Laperrière and his family live inHaddonfield, New Jersey.[24]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1989–90 | Montréal-Bourassa | QMAAA | 22 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1990–91 | Drummondville Voltigeurs | QMJHL | 65 | 19 | 29 | 48 | 117 | 14 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 48 | ||
| 1990–91 | Drummondville Voltigeurs | MC | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 1991–92 | Drummondville Voltigeurs | QMJHL | 70 | 28 | 49 | 77 | 160 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | ||
| 1992–93 | Drummondville Voltigeurs | QMJHL | 60 | 44 | 96 | 140 | 188 | 10 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 20 | ||
| 1993–94 | Drummondville Voltigeurs | QMJHL | 62 | 41 | 72 | 113 | 150 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 35 | ||
| 1993–94 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Peoria Rivermen | IHL | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1994–95 | Peoria Rivermen | IHL | 51 | 16 | 32 | 48 | 111 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 37 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 85 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 21 | ||
| 1995–96 | Worcester IceCats | AHL | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 33 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 87 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | New York Rangers | NHL | 28 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 62 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 102 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 77 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 131 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1998–99 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 72 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 138 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–2000 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 79 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 185 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2000–01 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 79 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 141 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | ||
| 2001–02 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 81 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 125 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 2002–03 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 73 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 122 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 62 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 82 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 116 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 27 | ||
| 2006–07 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 81 | 8 | 21 | 29 | 133 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 70 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 140 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 19 | ||
| 2008–09 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 74 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 163 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 82 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 162 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| NHL totals | 1,083 | 121 | 215 | 336 | 1,956 | 67 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 102 | ||||
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winner 2011 | Succeeded by |