Lappy Speaks
Ian Laperriere sounds off about his contract situation with the Avalanche
(from the Mile High Sports)
By Kitt Amundson
Mile High Sports
June 2009 - Ever since the end of the regular season, Avalanche backers have been wondering about the fate of a fan favorite, Ian Laperriere. They are not alone, Laperriere himself has also been wondering. At the trade deadline in March, there was speculation that he was on the block. He was a guy that teams trying to make a playoff run felt could make a difference. Four teams expressed an interest in trading for Lappy, all four of which made it to the playoffs, but a deal was never struck. When the trades didn't materialize, Laperriere breathed a sigh or relief, thinking the Avs would re-sign him for the 2009-10 season.
In terms of NHL players, Lappy is a bargain. He's seemingly a no-brainer for the Avs to ink to a new deal. But based on the actions thus far during the offseason, Laperriere is wondering whether or not newly appointed general manager Greg Sherman sees him as part of the team's plans moving forward.
"A one-year contract, for less money than I made last season, is exactly what the Avalanche offered to me, which is sort of a bad message to me in my opinion," Lappy explained in a recent exclusive interview with Mile High Sports. "During the year, they offered me a two-year deal, and now it is only a one-year deal. Usually when you want to keep a guy around, you don't downgrade your offer, or at least that is how I saw it."
When asked if this he thought these acts were a message the new management is trying to send to the players, he said, "To me, it really isn't 'new management.' It is the same management that was there before; they just have different titles now. Really, it is all the same. It is not like this management didn't know who I was. It is not like they don't know what I have done and am capable of doing. I don't know what it is. People are complaining that they made me an offer, and I chose not to take it. The offer and the whole thing is disappointing, really; it sends a bad message to me."
Don't think that Lappy doesn't read the comments and posts his fans in Denver make. He knows what is being said about the teams possible reasons for not bringing him back. "I understand that people may think that the team needs to be rebuilt, but you can't just change everyone," he offered. "You need some guys to help direct those young guys. The Avalanche still have great players like Ryan Smyth and Adam Foote to help them do that. Are those guys going to be there after the draft? That is another question, and I really doubt if they are going to be there.
"I read some of the comments from folks saying they shouldn't spend the money on me and go for a goalie, and I have to laugh and ask myself 'Are you kidding me?' You need more than me to get a good goalie in the NHL. In the hockey life, I don't make a lot of money. Don't get me wrong, I make a great living and am grateful for it, but I am at the low end of hockey salaries."
And Laperriere doesn't see things changing anytime soon. "I don't think they are going to do anything else because they went backwards from where they were during the season and we are two weeks away from July 1," he said. "The Avalanche has showed their hand, and it seems that they don't really want me around. That is fine with me. I wish that I would have found out two weeks ago before I made the trip here to Quebec, so that I wouldn't have to go back to Colorado to pack and go where I will eventually end up playing. I am going to go out there and see what there is."
All of this makes Lappy wish he had been dealt in March. "That would have let me keep playing and given me a chance to win. That fact is what made me a little bit mad. I am not saying that I would have won the Stanley Cup had they traded me at the deadline, but if they knew that they didn't want me around, why didn't they just let me go on? I am not bitter about it, but I guess it is a little bit disappointing. I knew that teams were interested in me at the trade deadline. (Former GM) Francois (Giguere) told me. He said that there were teams calling, but he knew I was important to the Avalanche in relation to their young players. He asked if there willing to give me a two-year deal, would I stick around? I told him that I liked it in Colorado and I was wiling to do it, but we could never come together on the money. That is the thing that is so ironic, they asked if I was willing to stay around and help rebuild this team, and I told them yes."
Laperriere was more than happy to stick around. "I would have been willing to stay around in Colorado and be a part of the Avalanche through the rebuilding; to help those young guys become NHL players," he explained. "A lot of them are not there yet and need some help."
He knows how that rebuilding process goes. "By doing that sometimes you sacrifice winning; I have been through it in Los Angeles," Lappy said. "It isn't like you don't play to win every game, but sometimes you know that you and your team are short some of the skills. At the end of the day, and when you are my age, had the Avs made me a decent offer, I would have thought about foregoing chances to pursue greater winning opportunities to stay around and help the team through that transition/rebuilding stage when you know you won't win."
That's no longer the case. "Things are different now that we are two weeks away from me becoming a free agent," Lappy explained. "I am going to see who is interested first; and then who has the best chance for me to win a Stanley Cup. I am going to listen to everything. Right now, I'd like a two-year deal and we will see what is out there. Maybe there will be, maybe there won't be. Maybe somebody will give me a three-year deal. We will have to see what is out there. There are other teams that are not that far away from having a chance to win in the new era of hockey who could be interested."
It sounds like someone has turned the page. And based on his thoughts about the current state of the Avs, that certainly seems to be the case. "Do I have a clue what is happening with the Avalanche? No clue. Who knows? I don't think anyone knows," Laperriere continued. "I hope that they have a master plan, but at the end of the day, they need to cut money and save money, and that means that they need to get rid of good skilled players — something that organization and its fans have never seen or experienced before."
It'll be a reality check for Avs fans. "They have been spoiled since they won the Cup right away," Lappy said. "Just look at the talent that has come through that organization. They are now going to go through what regular teams go through. You just can't win all the time; you need to reload. Colorado has good veterans, but who knows who they will keep after the draft to help with the young players. They need to keep someone to help Paul Stastny, for example. He's a young guy and he is going to need some help because I am sure that it is all going to fall on him now. I don't see Joe (Sakic) coming back. Why would he? Forget the money aspect, Joe has won everything he can. He's not stupid; he knows it is going to be a hard year next season, so why would he come back?"
In the end Laperriere will be sad to leave Colorado, a place he hopes to live when his playing days are over. "It is disappointing that I am probably not coming back," he explained. "I am not bitter at anyone; it is part of the business. What can you do?"