Oct 8, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Flyers assistant coach Ian Laperriere talk with Philadelphia Flyers center Claude Giroux (28) during the second period against the Florida Panthers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports Eric Hartline
The Flyers officially announced that Ian Laperriere will not be back as coach of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Tuesday, confirming a story first reported by On Pattison last week.
Laperriere, who has one more year remaining on his contract, will move into an advisory role with the organization, which is a soft landing for the former Flyers assistant coach.
Laperriere's new role is that of an advisor to the Hockey Operations department.
"I want to thank Ian for his tireless work in Lehigh Valley for the last four seasons," said Flyers General Manager Danny Briere. "He not only led the Phantoms in a return to the playoffs, but provided crucial development to several of our prospects. I am excited to welcome him back to the Flyers so he can continue to provide his insight in helping our team as we enter the next phase of the rebuild."
And while some (eh... many?) in the Flyers social media universe see this as failing upward, it's really not.
— Andy Goldenberg (@andy_goldenberg) May 27, 2025
What this means is, he has a seat reserved for him in the press box, and that he can offer insight into players he knows well or is familiar with from his time coaching in the AHL.
In other words, the Flyers are committed to paying him for another year anyway, so they will find something useful for him to do instead of having a sunk cost for him to sit at home and collect a paycheck.
Considering how loyal Laperriere has been to the organization and the good soldier he has been in the several jobs he has been asked to perform in his time with the Flyers, this allows him to still have a role, albeit a much smaller one, for another year.
https://t.co/TiWGprFrJ4 pic.twitter.com/L8Sr50GP92
As mentioned in the story last week, the Flyers will look to replace Laperriere as soon as possible, and there is interest in the OHL's Brantford Bulldogs coach Jay McKee, a former teammate of Briere, as well as Phantoms assistant John Snowden.
Snowden is expected to interview with management early this week, McKee is still under contract for one more year in Brantford, although deals can be worked out if the Flyers do choose to go that route.
It's a busy time of year for Briere, who is also looking to hire a couple of assistant coaches for the NHL club to serve under new coach Rick Tocchet.
