The merciful dismissal of John Tortorella a few weeks before the conclusion of the 2024-25 season means that the Philadelphia Flyers will be on the hunt for a new head coach this summer.
The organization themselves apparently don’t have a short list of candidates yet, as Danny Briere hinted at during his presser after relieving Tortorella of his duties, but there is plenty of speculation as to who is next in line to be the bench boss of the Flyers.
One of the names rising to the surface is Lehigh Valley Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere. Lappy is no stranger to the Flyers’ bench, he served as an assistant from 2013 to 2021. But should Laperriere get his turn at the helm of the Flyers? Let’s weigh some pros and cons and find out!
Pros
A Players’ Coach
We’ll soon find out whether or not all the emphasis on “culture” will die with Tortorella, but if they’re still looking to fall back on catchphrases and off-ice bonding, Lappy may very well be their guy.
He’s a renowned players’ coach- virtually the exact opposite of the bitter curmudgeon that was Torts. He’s a guy that could build culture based on camaraderie rather than fear and intimidation. It’s not the best selling point for a team that needs to see tangible results, but it’s not nothing either, especially based on the recent trends of the organization.
Familiar with Players
An internal hire like Lappy would be a decent boost for a fair amount of the main roster that spent time playing with him in Lehigh Valley. There’d be no “evaluation period” and he should be able to deploy players to their strengths relatively easily and quickly. If the Flyers are focused on positive results during the 2025-26 season, skipping over all the introductory steps could help them achieve that.
Former Flyer™️
Based on the current hiring patterns of the Dan Hilferty era, it does seem to lean to whether or not that person played for the Philadelphia Flyers in their career boding well for their likelihood of employment.
Not sure whether or not this falls under the “pros” or “cons,” guess we’ll leave that to the eye of the beholder. But in the continued gimmick of the Flyers, it does appear to hold real weight.
Cons
It’s Still Lappy
Most of the visceral negative reaction from the fanbase when talking about Laperriere as a candidate stems from his time behind the Flyers’ bench as an assistant to Dave Hakstol when he was in charge of a God awful penalty kill.
Should his past disqualify him from the present? Not necessarily, he does seem to be an overall improved coach from where he was a decade ago, but an unpopular hire isn’t going to sit well with an already weary fanbase.
No NHL HC Experience
If someone like David Carle is in the running, previous experience isn’t a necessity (albeit that Carle has far more accolades at lower levels than Lappy does.) But the Flyers really need to get this hiring right, and bringing on someone who doesn’t have previous NHL accolades to his name and a disaster unfolding is a bad look on Briere.
Conclusion
In a perfect world, Laperriere isn’t the next head coach of the Flyers. But it’s not overly surprising that his name is in the running, either.
Lappy has led the Phantoms to the playoffs for three consecutive seasons and clearly has the trust of the organization to develop prospects. And he’s done a relatively good job considering what he’s been given.
The largest problem the Flyers have had when it comes to development is integration into the NHL, which was a failure of John Tortorella and the main roster-level decision makers, not Ian Laperriere or the Phantoms’ staff. It doesn’t really matter how good a player was with the Phantoms, when they got called up to play five minutes a night on the fourth line alongside Nic Deslauriers, that wasn’t setting anybody up for success. And it was a consistent trend throughout the same time frame both Tortorella and Laperriere were in charge of their respective teams.
The reality is Danny Briere’s job is going to depend on this hire and, while there are some genuine positives that hiring Laperriere could bring, he’s far from the sexiest option available. It’s a “safe” pick, which ironically may be a larger gamble than a brand new outside-the-organization face.
And yeah, that whole “he’s a former Flyer” thing has worked well for every other front office hire, so it’s hard to imagine they’ll start considering real credentials this time if they could avoid it. It’s dumb and stupid pandering nonsense, but hey, all they got left is focusing on days gone by.
Whether you personally like him or not, Laperriere is a beloved figure by his peers and players. And there are indeed worse options out there. Coming fresh off the dictatorship that was the Tortorella era, it’s easy to see why Lappy could get a real look. But does he get the keys to the castle? Well we’re just gonna have to wait and find out.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: Lehigh Valley Phantoms
brotherlypuck.com 