The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have passed the midway point of the 2023-24 season and sit on the outside of the playoff picture with a mediocre 17-16-5-2 record. It has led to the fanbase to start calling for head coach Ian Laperriere to be fired, but is that really the best move to solve the problems facing the Phantoms?
Laperriere is in his third season as head coach of the Phantoms. He’s been involved with the Flyers organization since they signed him as a free agent forward in 2009. He only played one season on the ice, but has held various coaching and front office roles in the years since.
He carried the Phantoms to the postseason in 2023 first time in five years, and a bulk of the prospects had respectable seasons along the way. Elliot Desnoyers set a rookie goalscoring record for the franchise, Adam Ginning tied the best +/- rating during a successful personal campaign, and guys like Tyson Foerster and Olle Lycksell were offensive phenoms.
On the whole, the Phantoms have focused quite a bit of effort into development over the last two seasons. With very few exceptions, all the young guys are getting heavy ice time and, for the most part, succeeding in that role.
The Flyers and head coach John Tortorella talk a lot about culture. And while they’ve done their best to craft it on the main roster, they just shoveled some of their problems to Lehigh Valley, and it was like pulling the pin on an unhappy grenade and threw it down for Laperriere and the Phantoms to deal with.
Wade Allison, Tanner Laczynski, Ronnie Attard, Emil Andrae, Elliot Desnoyers and Olle Lycksell all found themselves in the AHL after it was expected they would compete for NHL jobs, especially Allison and Laczynski, who spent the 2022-23 season on the main roster. There were reports that there were some bad feelings because of it, particularly from Allison, whom Lappy buried by name to the media before recanting his statements a few weeks later.
Yet, a vast majority of the prospects that are supposed to be playing well are indeed playing well and getting the ice time they should. Even during the ugly 2023-24 campaign, Samu Tuomaala has developed into a top forward seemingly out of nowhere, Olle Lycksell remained solid, Emil Andrae has been given every chance to play his game, as has Ronnie Attard, Tanner Laczynski and Wade Allison.
Even some of the players who are having disappointing seasons like Elliot Desnoyers and Helge Grans is not because of a lack of opportunity from the coaches. They’re getting plenty of ice time and chances to get it right, they’re just not breaking through for whatever reason.
Are there better coaches out there fit for the role? Absolutely. Laperriere isn’t doing anything groundbreaking or providing something that can’t easily be replaced. But I’d also argue that he personally hasn’t been as big of a net negative as some make it out to be. The overall depth hasn’t been up to snuff, and with how horrific the goaltending has been, they’re dead in the water before they even have a chance to turn things around.
If the Phantoms miss the playoffs this season, expect whispers to become more prevalent in regards to Laperriere’s future. And remember, it’s Lappy, he won’t get fired, he’ll just be relocated elsewhere within the organization like he’s done for nearly a decade now.
Either way, the organization needs to put some level of work into building the Phantoms into a perennially contending team. The shoddy roster construction is quite possibly more at fault than Laperriere himself. So whether or not Lappy stays, the depth and goaltending need to be overhauled if they want the best chance to build a successful environment for their prospects to develop in.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: phantomshockey.com
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