Laperriere Holds Out Hope For Return
(from the Courier-Post)
By Chuck Gormley
Staff Writer
May 17, 2010 - PHILADELPHIA — Flyers right wing Ian Laperriere was born in Montreal, grew up an avid Canadiens fan and has hundreds of family and friends who bleed rouge, blanc et bleu.
He has also played 16 seasons in the NHL and has never played in a conference final.
With all of that history Laperriere would give anything -- well, everything but his future with his family -- to be in the lineup against Les Habitants.
And with a little luck, he just might.
Sidelined since April 22 with a brain contusion suffered in Game 5 of the Flyers' first-round series against the New Jersey Devils, Laperriere skated for the second straight day on Sunday and will learn in the next few days whether he'll be cleared to return during the Flyers' remarkable playoffs.
"They told me I've got a slim chance and when they say that, I want to make sure I'm ready to go if they clear me," Laperriere told the Courier-Post before Sunday night's opener of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Laperriere said he will undergo an MRI "in a couple days" to see if the spot on his brain has dissipated. It was found on April 26 and at that point Laperriere was told his season was over.
"We're all different," he said. "Some people, it takes two months to go away, some, it takes a month, some, it takes six months. I'm a guy who takes care of myself and I like to believe it will pay off. But I want to be truthful with myself, for my family's sake."
Laperriere, 36, said he suffered a setback in his recovery a little more than two weeks ago when he was diagnosed with positional vertigo. When he moved quickly, he said he experienced a spinning sensation he had never felt before with any previous concussions in his career.
Laperriere said he was referred to an ear specialist who manipulated his head and balanced the crystals in his inner eardrums.
"It took five minutes and the symptoms were gone," he said. "I haven't had any since."
Laperriere wore a full face shield in each of his first two skates and said his conditioning was better than he expected.
He said one way or the other, he is anxious to know whether he can join the Flyers' quest for the Stanley Cup.
"I've felt great for the last two weeks, but I know this is a big-time injury," he said. "If they tell me I'm 80 percent, I'm not playing. But if they tell me I can't get hurt by taking a bump, I'll be on that ice. Trust me, it's killing me not being our there right now.
"But I also have a wife and two kids and I don't want them to have to take care of me because I was stupid enough to come back before I was 100 percent."
Reach Chuck Gormley at cgormley@courierpostonline.com