Ian Laperriere doesnt pretend it was easy to show up at the rink with a smile on his face every day, helping young players jump-start their careers in the NHL.
For two seasons, Laperriere showed up at games for the Flyers, sat in the press box, talked to injured players and gave them encouragement during their rehab.
You see me at the rink and everythings good, I have a smile on my face, but trust me, its been a really, really tough past two years, said the 38-year-old forward.
Im an actor, you guys know that. I can put on an actor face.
With his contract now fully expired, taking him off the Flyers salary cap, Laperriere has retired and made it official, though the story was out there all along.
It was my shortest time here compared to other teams I played for and that is probably one of my regretsnot having a longer chance to play, he said of his three years hereonly one was spent on the ice.
Im just glad I had the chance to wear the orange and black. Pretty much, its something that I would have missed just to play for a team that cares so much about their fans and their players so much.
NHL
Laperriere hasnt played since the Flyers 2010 Stanley Cup Final because of post-concussion syndrome, the result of being struck by a puck in the right eye that spring against New Jersey.
His 1.166 salary had been on the Flyers cap for the past two seasons. Why didnt the 17-year veteran retire sooner?
Didnt matter. His salary still would have counted against the cap and the Flyers still would have had to put him on long-term injury reserve. By remaining, he fulfilled a job within the organization and earned his NHL salary while biding time to recover from his injury, which never happened.
I knew retirement was coming for a while, Laperriere said. Right when I came to training camp two years ago and my eye and head wasnt right, I felt I would give myself the length of my contract to see if I could do something about it, but more and more as time went by, I kinda knew nothing was going to change.
To come back and play hockey the way I wanted to play was out of the question. Its a faster sport, a tough sport out there. For me to come back today wouldnt be fair to my family or be fair for the Flyers, either. Im feeling pretty good but Im not at 100 percent at age 38 to come back and play the way I wanted to play.
Laperriere won the Masterton Trophy in 2011 on his third nomination by the Professional Hockey Writers Association as the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
He wants to pursue fulltime coaching, but will continue in his current role with the Flyers until such a job comes along.
For now, that is what Im doingworking with the young guys, he said. But I feel I want to get closer to the game. Coaching is a route I wouldnt mind exploring and doing that.
What I am doing, I try to be around as much prospects as I can just to show them what it takes on the ice, off the ice. They all have talent. It takes a lot more than that to play at the next level and stay at the next level.
Its a goal to make the NHL but its a bigger challenge to stay in it 15-16 years or even 10 years. Thats what I do nowtry to pass on my experience over the years.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net