Quick Hits: Coach, Phantoms, Prospect Pipeline, Van Impe, and More

Two Stanley Cup first-round playoff series wrapped up on Wednesday night. The defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers ousted the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Washington Capitals closed out the Montreal Canadiens. Here are your Flyers quick hits and musings for May 1, 2025.

Calder Cup Playoffs

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms suffered a 3-0 shutout road loss on Wednesday against the Hershey Bears. Ian Laperriere’s team trailed, 1-0, heading into the third period before the Bears added a pair of insurance goals. Hunter Shepard notched a 26-save shutout for Hershey. Parker Gahagen stopped 24 of 26 shots in a losing cause. Chase Priskie, Spencer Smallman and Bogdan Trineyev (empty net) scored for Hershey. The Bears lead the best-of-five series, one game to zero.

Four plays in particular exemplify the Phantoms’ frustrations in the series opener. Alex Bump broke his stick on a breakaway in the second period. In the third period, the Phantoms failed to capitalize on a 5-on-3 power play. Bump was stopped point blank during the two-man advantage. Stillman proceeded to score shortly after even strength play resumed. Later, Bump lost and edge and wiped out, allowing Trineyev to score an uncontested empty netter to seal the final outcome.

The Phantoms went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill. However, they lost vital attack time through penalty trouble in the second and early third periods. Lehigh Valley also committed some costly turnovers. At 5-on-5, the Phantoms created a decent volume of chances but could not solve Shepard. Notably, Phantoms rookie Jett Luchanko sprung Garrett Wilson for a scoring chance on which Shepard made an excellent pad save. Later, defenseman Ethan Samson drew iron after the Hershey netminder got just enough of the puck to deflect it off the post.

Flyers head coach search: Nelson, Cooper

Multiple people have asked me if I think Hershey coach Todd Nelson would be a viable candidate to fill the Flyers’ vacancy (assuming the organization does not remove the interim tag from Brad Shaw). The answer: Yes, but the timeline might work against his availability. With Spencer Carbery entrenched in Washington, the Capitals would likely give Nelson the Flyers permission to interview Nelson once the Bears’ postseason run is over. When will that be, though? The back-to-back Calder Cup champions did not conclude the playoffs last year until June 25. The Phantoms could inadvertently add one more candidate to the parent club’s interview list if they come back to win three of the next four games.

In the meantime, there is rampant speculation aboutTampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper. The team’s gradual but undeniable decline has led various outlets across North America to wonder if Cooper will move on this summer. Having previously coached the Bolts to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships and three consecutive Eastern Conference championships, Cooper’s contract runs through the 2025-26 season. Rather than returning for a lame-duck season, would the 57-year-old seek to terminate his contract this offseason?

Ed Van Impe (1940-2025)

Flyers Hall of Fame defenseman Ed Van Impe passed away on Tuesday night, surrounded by family members. He was 84 years old. Van Impe was an original Flyer and the second captain in franchise history. The Flyers selected the rugged blueliner from the Chicago Black Hawks in the 1967 Expansion Draft. Van Impe served as captain from 1968-69 through midseason 1972-73, when he ceded the role to young superstar Bobby Clarke.

Van Impe remained a team leader after his captaincy. The three-time NHL All-Star Game selection was a mainstay on the Broad Street Bullies teams that won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. In 1975-76, the Flyers reached the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight year.

On January 11, 1976, Van Impe played a central role in the Flyers’ historic 4-1 victory over the Red Army team at the Spectrum. Late in the first period, Van Impe exited the penalty box and delivered the “hit heard around the world” on Russian star Valeri Kharlamov in open ice. The Red Army pulled their team off the ice, arguing that Van Impe deliberately elbowed Kharlamov. Referee Lloyd Gilmour did not call a penalty. After a 15-minute delay, the Russian team returned to the ice. The Flyers dominated the rest of the game, scoring four unanswered goals on the legendary Vladislav Tretiak.

After his playing days, Van Impe became a television commentator on Flyers’ broadcasts. Off the ice, he was a devoted husband and father with scores of friends. Along with old friend and teammate Joe Watson, Van Impe was one of the leaders in forming the Flyers Alumni Association in 1984.

“A Flyer always gives more than he (thinks he) has, does what he has to do to win. He does it game in and game out, not just every fourth or fifth time he plays,” Van Impe told Hockey Hall of Fame writer Jay Greenberg in Flyers at 50.

Van Impe and wife Diane lived in the Delaware Valley for many years after his playing days ended. In his later years, the Saskatoon native relocated to British Columbia. Increasingly frail health prevented Van Impe from making the grueling trip to Philadelphia in January 2024 to attend the golden anniversary reunion with his surviving Stanley Cup teammates. Earlier this year, old teammate Orest Kindrachuk visited Van Impe in Canada as part of the Flyers Alumni’s new House Calls program in which Alumni arrange in-person visits to elderly or ailing teammates.

Ed Van Impe — the second captain in @NHLFlyers history, a blueline stalwart on two Cup teams and later a TV broadcaster — passed away on Tuesday night. He was surrounded by family at his side. Ed was 84.

Condolences to the Van Impe family, teammates and friends. pic.twitter.com/ioEL0YE8zw

— Flyers Alumni (@FlyersAlumni) May 1, 2025

Prospect Pipeline

On Tuesday morning, at its “secret” location at Wells Fargo Center, Brian Smith and I recorded the latest Prospect Pipeline podcast. In this episode, Smitty and I previewed the Phantoms’ playoff series against Hershey. We also talked about the longstanding rivalry between the two clubs and reminisced (on and off the air) about some memorable minor league playoff series of the past.