Laperriere's Brave Heart Needed Now
(from the Denver Post)
By Adrian Dater
The Denver Post
December 4, 2008 - Ian Laperriere has been putting up some crooked scoring numbers of late, kind of like his nose.
"You wouldn't believe the number of plastic surgeons who have slipped me their business cards in different cities," the Avalanche forward said. "I tell them, 'Maybe when my career is done, we can talk.' "
Laperriere wants a few more years to go by before he thinks about getting a nose job. In the last year of his contract, the 34-year-old still loves coming to the rink.
Always upbeat and chirpy even in tough times, Laperriere has been even more so of late. He has two goals and four assists in his past five games, including two assists in Monday's 6-5 win over Minnesota.
He's being rewarded of late with more ice time from coach Tony Granato, including a season-high 18:42 against Tampa Bay on Saturday night.
"The harder you play and the more you do the little things to help us win, the more you're going to get on the ice," Granato said. "With Lappy, he's going to give you everything he's got. From Day 1, he's always worn his heart on his sleeve. The last week or so, he's even finding ways to produce offensively."
Laperriere has always done the brave things on the ice, such as fight when his team needs it, or throw his body in front of a slap shot. Laperriere ranks ninth in blocked shots, with 20, among NHL forwards.
With Joe Sakic out of the lineup at least another six weeks, continued offensive support from players such as Laperriere would be much welcomed by the Avs.
"Everybody's got to do a little bit more," said Laperriere, who scored 21 goals for the Avs in 2005-06 but scored a combined 12 goals in 151 games the next two seasons. "It's just that I could make a couple plays out there lately, and I did. But I just want to make sure I'm strong defensively. I think when you've got guys like Joe out, you just try to be a little bit stronger defensively."
Laperriere always has been an agitator on the ice and can talk trash with the best of them.
But he has always tried to do it in the spirit of competition, he said, not in the way of, say, a Sean Avery — who was suspended indefinitely by the NHL for crass remarks about his former girlfriend.
"What a moron," Laperriere said of Avery, a former teammate when he played in Los Angeles.
Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com