Phantoms coach Ian Laperrière is in playoff mode, but he’d like a shot at the Flyers’ coaching job

ALLENTOWN — Ian Laperrière sits at his desk in the bowels of the PPL Center in Allentown, focused on his team’s postseason aspirations.

He is the coach of the Flyers’ American Hockey League team, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and splashed around him are orange, black, and purple. But if he had his way, he’d delete the purple.

“Like everybody else, you want to coach at the top level, and, yeah, for sure, I’d love to interview for the [Flyers] job,” he told The Inquirer on Monday. “But right now, I’m focusing on taking this team as far as we can with the kids that we have here and the players that we have here. … [But] to answer, to be honest, transparent, I would love to have that job. Love to be interviewed for it.”

Laperrière does have an impressive resumé, and he has paid his dues. He played 1,083 NHL games, including 82 as a Flyer in his final season, and accumulated 1,956 penalty minutes. The winger skated in another 67 playoff games and was a member of the Flyers’ 2010 team that went to the Stanley Cup Final.

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He was injured early in the 2010 postseason run and spent the next two seasons on injured reserve for the Flyers because of post-concussion syndrome. “Lappy” retired in June 2012 and 17 days later was named the organization’s director of player development.

It was a short-lived job.

After three consecutive regulation losses to start the 2013-14 season, the Flyers fired Peter Laviolette and replaced him with former Flyers forward Craig Berube. Laperrière joined him as an assistant coach and stayed through multiple coaching changes, working with Dave Hakstol, Scott Gordon, and Alain Vigneault. In 2021-22, Laperrière became the Phantoms’ head coach, and this season marks the team’s third straight postseason appearance.

One thing Laperrière holds over the other names that have popped up in the coaching search, except for interim coach Brad Shaw, is that he has coached several players on the current roster. Everyone knows Rick Tocchet’s connections to the organization, and Pat Ferschweiler just got done coaching Alex Bump at Western Michigan, but of the 22 active players on the Flyers roster, Laperrière has coached nine of them, including defensemen Travis Sanheim, Cam York, and Egor Zamula, goalie Sam Ersson, and forwards Bobby Brink, Tyson Foerster, Travis Konecny, and Sean Couturier, who took his No. 14.

Several of those players have expressed frustration over the last three seasons about former head coach John Tortorella. Often, when asked if they were given a reason they were removed from the lineup and what they needed to work on to get back in, they said they were never told.

That is not how Laperrière operates.

“The way it works here, if I sit a guy out, I’m going to show him why,” he said. “It’s not like you figure it out on your own. … But for me, especially, having young guys and guys that are sitting out, and I’m transparent. You can ask any of my players. If they’re not playing, they know why. … During the season, if I sit a guy out, they’ll know why. There’s no way he can go and say, ‘I don’t know why Lappy sat me out.’ There’s reasons.”

So far, there have been no conversations with general manager Danny Brière about the open spot. Right now, Laperrière wants to take the Phantoms deep into the postseason. A deep run might just be possible. The Phantoms opened up the postseason Wednesday night with a 5-2 victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, behind two goals from Bump and two assists each from prospects Jett Luchanko and Emil Andrae.

Game 2 of the best-of-three series is at 7 p.m. Friday in Allentown. If necessary, the finale would be Sunday (6 p.m.) at the Baby Penguins. FloHockey will televise all three games.

The Phantoms’ roster is so jam-packed with talent that several players will be watching from the press box. But these games will present key developmental opportunities for Luchanko, Bump, and Andrae, who are considered a big part of the Flyers’ future.

Laperrière loves being a head coach but says he wouldn’t be against an NHL associate coaching job, as it comes with more responsibility. But he knows he can do the top job and feels he has proven he can handle two keys Brière has mentioned: teaching and communication.

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“Communication and myself, there’s nothing that I would change, and those guys know me,” he said. “I’m demanding, but I’m a pretty easygoing guy. I like to have fun at the rink. But for me, I want them to work. I want them to do what I’m asking them to do, but there’s different ways to go about it.

“My way is different than Torts’, and it’s different than other guys. But, yeah, again, it’s for down the road. … A lot of people are asking me that question, and for sure, I’d love to have a shot to coach at the best level with the best players.”

Amid his interview, Laperrière asked: “You don’t want to talk about Bump?”

OK, Coach, let’s talk about Bump.

“For me, it’s my first impression, [and] when I met the kid, he’s a hockey player,” Laperrière said with a glint in his eyes. “His demeanor, his look, and that was before I saw him skate. He’s just like, ‘Bring it on.’ Love that about him.”

Bump, who was his college conference’s forward of the year after tallying 23 goals and 47 points in, 42 games for Western Michigan, has looked right at home since turning pro.

“I was impressed with his poise and composure, with that. … When he does have puck, the head’s up, makes the right play, he’s got the poise to keep it, protecting it, like little details that are rare for a 21-year-old kid,” he said. “And confident? He should be confident.”

The Phantoms’ bench boss watched some of Bump’s college action, including the championship game in which he helped Western Michigan win its first NCAA title. What did he think? “He was one of the best players in the tournament.”

Bump signed his entry-level deal with the Flyers last Tuesday before inking an amateur tryout agreement with Lehigh Valley. His willingness to go to the AHL did not go unnoticed by the organization.

Then the 6-foot-2, 200-pound winger scored his first pro goal in the Phantoms’ season finale, and it was on the power play. With his two playoff goals Wednesday, Bump now has three goals and five points for Lehigh Valley. When told that Bump will tell you he is not a fifth-rounder, Laperrière liked his moxie.

“He should come in with a chip on his shoulder, and right now, at this time of year, for us, I welcome that,” he said. “More skills with a chip on his shoulder, go ahead, kid. Like I told him, and I told Jett the same thing, you’re not coming here just to learn like other guys. You’re coming here to be a big part of what we’re trying to do here down the stretch. You want to talk about skills and compete, he’s got both.

“So in the playoffs, he needs skill and compete, and he’s going to play a ton. So I was very impressed. First week he’s been with us, it’s been impressive.”

The Flyers Alumni Association is partnering with Team Foster and America’s VetDogs to sponsor and co-raise a future service dog. Fans can help name the Labrador retriever pup, choosing from Bruiser, Chief, Eddie, Hammer, Moose, or Stanley, with voting closing at 11:59 p.m. Friday. … Flyers Charities announced the first three recipients of Rink Revive, “a community initiative aimed at transforming local hockey rinks and expanding access to the game for players of all ages.” The ball hockey rink in Gibbstown, N.J., is getting a comprehensive reconstruction, including new dek flooring, boards, and equipment. Jacobs Rink in Northeast Philly is also getting a new dek floor, and Ice Works in Aston is getting 10 new bumpers to help coaches split the ice for youth hockey. Rink Revive was sparked after the Flyers helped two young girls rebuild the ball hockey rink in Gilbertsville.