Flyers shift former Phantoms coach Ian Laperrière into advisory role

Ian Laperrière is shifting gears.

After four seasons as the head coach of the American Hockey League’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Laperrière is transitioning to an adviser role in the Flyers’ hockey operations department, working with president Keith Jones and general manager Danny Brière. Former Flyers John LeClair and Patrick Sharp both hold the same title within the organization.

“I want to thank Ian for his tireless work in Lehigh Valley for the last four seasons,” Brière said Tuesday in the team’s press release. “He not only led the Phantoms in a return to the playoffs, but provided crucial development to several of our prospects.

“I am excited to welcome him back to the Flyers so he can continue to provide his insight in helping our team as we enter the next phase of the rebuild.”

Laperrière, 51, led the Phantoms to the postseason in each of his last three seasons, including back-to-back second-round appearances. It culminated this season when Lehigh Valley took two-time defending champion Hershey to a deciding Game 5 in the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs. He posted a 134-120-38 overall record (.524 points percentage), and led the Phantoms to winning seasons in his final three campaigns in charge. The Inquirer confirmed last week that Laperrière would not be retained in Lehigh Valley.

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Of the players who suited up for the Flyers this season, Laperrière has coached several, 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 jersey number, 14.

Despite the shift, if the opportunity arose, Laperrière would be open to coaching again. He told The Inquirer in April he was interested in the Flyers’ top job, which ultimately went to Rick Tocchet, and was open to an associate job in the NHL.

“You look at the guys that went up, they all look all right,” he said before the Phantoms knocked out the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the first round. “And you can go back to the [Morgan] Frosts of the world, [Tyson] Foersters of the world, Yorkies of the world, they went through here before they went to the Flyers. ... And those guys know me, 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.”

A longtime member of the organization, Laperrière was an assistant coach for the Flyers for nine seasons before moving up the turnpike. 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.

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 before quickly getting promoted to assistant coach under Craig Berube.

The Flyers will begin a search for the new head coach of the Phantoms immediately.

While Laperrière is heading a few miles south to Philly, Brad Shaw also isn’t going too far. On Tuesday, it was announced that he will be heading a few miles north to join the New Jersey Devils.

Beginning on July 1, Shaw will be an assistant coach on Sheldon Keefe’s staff with the Flyers’ Metropolitan Division rival. The team had open spots after announcing on May 9 that it would not be renewing the contracts of assistant coaches Ryan McGill and Chris Taylor.

Keefe played 13 games under Shaw, the head coach of the Detroit Vipers of the now-defunct International Hockey League, in 2000-01. The following year, when Shaw was an assistant coach for Springfield, Keefe played 24 games for the AHL club.

Shaw was with the Flyers organization for three seasons, serving first as an associate coach in charge of the defense and penalty kill before being promoted to interim coach when John Tortorella was fired in late March. He was a finalist for the Flyers’ head coaching job.

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“He was strongly considered all the way to the end. It was tough. He did a good job,” Brière said after Tocchet was introduced. “We had the chance to get Rick Tocchet. It’s nothing against Brad Shaw. We felt Rick Tocchet checked all the boxes for us. Really appreciative of what Brad has done. He’s helped a lot of our young guys, on defense especially.

“He was considered. He called me yesterday and said he didn’t feel like he could fully invest himself, going through the process again to see if he would be part of the staff moving forward. So I totally understand and respect that, and we wish him the best. And if teams reach out to us, he’s going to get a really positive review from our end.”

The Flyers will have a new coach at all three levels of the organization next season, as Jason Binkley, the coach and general manager of the Reading Royals, the Flyers and Phantoms’ ECHL affiliate, was relieved of his duties Tuesday. The Royals compiled a record of 46-44-15 record under Binkley, who was promoted to head coach on Jan. 29, 2024. The Flyers hired Rick Tocchet to be their new head coach on May 14, and now are looking for new bench bosses in both Lehigh Valley and Reading.