Ian Laperriere News and Photos
Stanley Cup Final - Game 1
"This next round, it's going to be the team that wants it more that's going to get it."
Ian Laperriere - May 28, 2010 - Philadelphia Inquirer
Sam Donnellon: Long Wait Finally Over for Flyers' Laperriere
(from the Philadelphia Daily News - 5/25/10)
One by one, they leaned into him, shook his hand vigorously. Some Montreal Canadiens offered hugs, some hearty hits on that hardened, helmeted noggin, until finally Ian Laperriere took the huge contraption off at mid-ice so you could see that gap-toothed smile of his, the one that says - in so many ways - hockey player.
The one that says, too, "2010 Flyers."
"Guys I don't even know bearhugged me, wished me luck," the Flyers' gritty forward said after last night's Eastern Conference-clinching, 4-2 victory. "They know I'm getting older and you don't have too many chances to win a Cup..."
Flyers Ian Laperriere Joins 610 WIP Morning Team
Philadelphia Flyers Ian Laperriere talks Eastern Conference Finals, the Stanley Cup and putting your body on the line on Tuesday, May 25, 2010.
Ian Laperriere Talks Cup Final and Pronger
Philadelphia Flyers forward Ian Laperriere talks about the upcoming Stanley Cup Final vs. Chicago on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. (Courtesy of NHL.com)
Lappy's Just a Different Breed
(from the700level.com - 5/26/10)
...Think about it - when a player suffers an injury requiring 70 stitches and he somehow returns to the ice 10 minutes later we simply shrug and say "he's a hockey player."
No one personifies this more than Ian Laperriere. As you know Lappy took a frozen disk of vulcanized rubber moving at upwards of 80 MPH to the face. The shot broke his orbital bone, aka broke his face, and caused bruising of his brain. Let me say that again...he suffered a bruised brain. He couldn't even see afterwards to the point that he asked Flyers trainer Jim McCrossin whether he'd lost an eye. You know how you look at the injury report in other sports and it typically says something along the lines of "Player X: doubtful knee", or "Player Y: questionable back"? Yeah, Lappy's injury report would have read "Laperriere: out brain..."
Practice - May 26, 2010
The Flyers practice in Voorhees, N.J., Wednesday, May 26, 2010 before the Stanley Cup Finals.
(Ed Hille/Philly.com Staff Photographer)
Right winger Ian Laperriere at practice. (Ed Hille/Philly.com Staff Photographer)
Philadelphia Flyers' Ian Laperriere speaks during news conference at the team's NHL hockey training facility in Voorhees, N.J., Wednesday, May 26, 2010. The Flyers face the Chicago Blackhawks starting Saturday in the Stanley Cup finals.(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The Flyers talk about facing the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final, May 26, 2010.
(Courtesy of CSNPhilly.com)
Ian Laperriere on the Fan 590 - Toronto's Sports Radio
Ian Laperriere joined Landry and Stellick on Thursday, May 27, 2010 to talk about the Flyers' journey to the finals, his role on the team, and how they plan to stop the Blackhawks.
Click here to download his interview segment
(Right click, then choose "save as")
Flyers' Ian Laperriere Pays the Price of Success
(from NHL.com - 5/27/10)
The slap shot off the stick of New Jersey defenseman Paul Martin that struck Philadelphia's Ian Laperriere just above the right eyebrow -- opening him up for almost 70 stitches and nearly ending his season -- is nothing more than the price of staying in the NHL, says the veteran winger on the eve of the first Stanley Cup appearance in his 16-year career.
"My thinking is if I stopped doing that and get out of the way of pucks, I might as well retire because nobody is going to want me," Laperriere said Thursday at Media Day prior to the Stanley Cup Final opener on Saturday (8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, RDS). "The day I start thinking like that, I'm done because they'll take a younger guy that will do my job for half the price."
Right now, though, there is no replacing Laperriere for these Flyers...
Lapping It Up
Excerpt from "Plenty of Ties Between Blackhawks, Flyers"
(from LATimes.com - 5/27/10)
Hockey players' capacity to play through pain is legendary. Keith lost seven teeth when he was hit in the mouth by a shot Sunday, losing a few shifts but generating no complaints.
"I'm not feeling bad; missing some teeth," he said.
Flyers forward Ian Laperriere, whose scrappiness made him a huge fan favorite during eight-plus seasons with the Kings, matched Keith's dental destruction and can top that.
Laperriere needed about 100 stitches - and seven replacement teeth - after he blocked a shot in November. He refused to wear a visor and regretted that when he was hit in the face by a shot from New Jersey's Paul Martin in Game 2 of the Flyers' first-round victory over the Devils. He sustained a brain bruise and broken orbital bone and returned for Game 4 of the Flyers' e win over Montreal in the Eastern Conference finals, his right eyebrow bisected by more than 70 stitches.
"I got messed up this season quite a bit," he said.
But not enough to keep the 36-year-old Montreal native from playing in the first Cup finals of his 16-plus NHL seasons. Or for him to play it safe.
"There's no choice. Especially at this time of year," he said. "I can't try to be a 50-goal scorer. I never tried that; I won't try right now. And it's not like I've got 10 years left."
Laperriere is fondly remembered in Los Angeles, and Kings fan Karen Ellis of Sherman Oaks maintains a website, http://www.itsallaboutlappy.com, in his honor. Reaching the finals with the Kings, Laperriere said, would have been memorable.
"Everywhere I've been, that's my goal. I work all summer just to get to the big dance. You have to be lucky to be on the right team and hopefully this is my year," he said. "We have two teams left and I'm part of one of them, which is great.
"It would have been nice in L.A. I had nine great years there. I had a good time. Same with Colorado. It wasn't meant to be, I guess."
Stanley Cup Media Day
Ian Laperriere of the Philadelphia Flyers answers a reporters question during Stanley Cup media day at the United Center on May 27, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois.
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Philadelphia Flyers forward Ian Laperriere talks about coming back from injury.
(Courtesy of NHL.com)
Battered, Bruised...But Back!
(from NHLPA.com - 5/28/10)
He's been battered, bruised and banged-up, but he's by no means a beaten man. Welcome to the black and blue world of Ian Laperriere.
Having become one of Philadelphia's most beloved athletes for his gritty style and win-at-all-cost attitude, Flyers' fans grimaced when Laperriere found himself front and centre after a scary incident on April 22...
More Articles
Bob Ford: Flyers Bonded Under Painful Circumstances
(from the Philadelphia Inquirer - 5/28/10)
Laperriere: A 'Heart and Soul Guy'
(from the Philadelphia Inquirer - 5/28/10)
Practice - May 28, 2010
Flyers' Ian Laperriere tries to tip a puck in front of goalie Johan Backlund during practice at the United Center in Chicago, IL, on May 28, 2010 for the Stanley Cup Final series between the Blackhawks and Flyers. (David Maialetti/Philly.com Staff Photographer)
Philadelphia Flyers Mike Richards and Ian Laperriere share a laugh during practice for the NHL Stanley Cup in Chicago, May 28, 2010. (REUTERS/Jeff Haynes)
Scott Burnside talks with Ian Laperriere about coming back from injury and getting ready to face the Blackhawks on Friday, May 28, 2010. (Courtesy of ESPN.com)
Watch the video here
Gritty Laperriere Is Face of the Flyers
(from the Vancouver Sun - 5/29/10)
There are plenty of reasons, in deconstructing this Stanley Cup final matchup, to discount a Philadelphia Flyers team that wouldn't have made the playoffs in the Western Conference.
But the most compelling reason to resist the urge is written all over Ian Laperriere's face.
The one-inch gap in his right eyebrow, for example, where the 70 stitches went after he took New Jersey defenceman Paul Martin's slapshot in the face five weeks ago, fracturing his orbital bone and confusing his brain. The nose, all pushed over to one side, where it sits flat against his cheek...
More Articles
Laperriere: 'I've Been Waiting 15 Years For This'
(from the Toronto Sun - 5/29/10)
Flyers' Ian Laperriere All Smiles as Cup Finals Begin
(from the NHL Fanhouse - 5/29/10)
Excerpt from "35 Reasons Flyers on Brink of First Cup in 35 Years"
(from CSNPhilly.com - 5/29/10)
Things looked bleak in December. They really looked bleak in March. Heck, things looked bleak just three weeks ago. But here the Flyers are, playing for their first Stanley Cup in 35 years. And here are 35 reasons why they're in this position, four wins away from winning the championship...
20) Ian Laperriere's brain - If a baseball pitcher took a line drive to the head and suffered a brain contusion, he would probably miss a full calendar year. Laperriere missed just one month, and that was only because the doctors forced him to sit out until the spot on his brain disappeared. Simply put, he's one of the toughest players to ever wear the orange and black.
STANLEY CUP FINAL - GAME 1
Flyers 5 - Blackhawks 6
The Blackhawks edged the Philadelphia Flyers 6-5 in a wild Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final at the United Center on Saturday, May 29, 2010. Ian Laperriere logged 7:06 of ice time and was credited with one shot on goal in the first Stanley Cup Final game of his career:
Speaking of chasing a dream, Ian Laperriere will suit up tonight in his first Stanley Cup final after 1,083 regular-season games in the NHL and 61 more in the playoffs...at 36 years old, his obvious excitement to be involved in this is really fun to see.
"Two, three weeks ago I didn't know if I would ever be a part of this," said Laperriere, who played 28 of his 1,083 games as a Ranger in 1995-96, and who returned for these playoffs at the end of Round 3 after taking a puck to the eye in the opening series against the Devils. "I look back at my career, I was wondering if I would ever have a chance to win. I know those injuries, forget about those. Right now it's our time, it's our chance to win it, and I'm going to give my all."
(from the New York Daily News Blueshirts Blog - 5/29/10)
Riley Cote #32, Ian Laperriere #14, Matt Carle #25 and Michael Leighton #49 of the Philadelphia Flyers stretch before playing against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game One of the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the United Center on May 29, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois.
(Photo by Andre Ringuette/Getty Images)
Ian Laperriere #14 of the Philadelphia Flyers checks Jordan Hendry #6 of the Chicago Blackhawks into the boards in the first peiod of Game One of the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the United Center on May 29, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Getty Images)
Philadelphia Flyers right wing Ian Laperriere (14) shoots as Chicago Blackhawks goalie Antti Niemi (31) and defenseman Jordan Hendry (6) look on during the second period of game 1 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final at the United Center in Chicago, May 29, 2010. (UPI Photo/Mark Cowan)
Ian Laperriere #14 of the Philadelphia Flyers handles the puck against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game One of the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the United Center on May 29, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)