Pat LaFontaine
Pat LaFontaine ( born February 22, 1965 in St. Louis, Missouri ) is a retired American professional ice hockey player who played from 1983 to 1998 for the New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers of the National Hockey League.
- 3.1 International
Career
Raised in St. Louis, Missouri born and in Detroit, Michigan LaFontaine decided against a career in a junior collage team and played in the Canadian Junior Football League. Here he played an outstanding season and led his team, the Verdun Juniors in the final of the Memorial Cup.
This performance made him the NHL Entry Draft in 1983 as one of the highly traded hopefuls. Behind Brian Lawton and Sylvain Turgeon, where no great NHL career should be imminent, Lafontaine was chosen as the third of the New York Islanders, ahead of other stars such as Steve Yzerman ( 4 ), Tom Barrasso ( 5 ) and Cam Neely ( 9, ). And again he did not go the usual route. Instead in the NHL to change, he played with the U.S. national team and was preparing for the 1984 Olympic Games in Sarajevo before. With eight points in six games Pat was one of the best players of the team that finished 7th.
For the next season he went to the Islanders, where he was not rushed in its development. It was only in his third season 1986/87 he made his breakthrough. There followed six seasons, each with over 40 gates, but despite its good performance, the Islanders were in those years a little successful team. 1991 Lafontaine was delivered to Buffalo. There he accomplished in the 1992/93 season 148 points. Finally he retired in 1996 a severe concussion. To reduce the salary structure, he was delivered to the New York Rangers. In New York he did not reach the peak values as before. In 1998 he again took part in the Olympic Games. After he had suffered another serious concussion, he finished his career.
In 2003 he was honored with induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Career Stats
Internationally
Represented the U.S. at:
- 1984 Winter Olympics
- Canada Cup 1987
- World Cup 1989
- Canada Cup 1991
- World Cup of Hockey 1996
- 1998 Winter Olympics
( Key to Career statistics: Sp or GP = Games Played, T or G = goals scored, V or A = achieved assists; Pts or Pts = scored points scorer, SM or PIM = received penalty minutes, / - = Plus / Minus balance sheet; PP = scored majority gates; SH = scored shorthanded goals, GW = achieved victory gates; Play-downs/Relegation 1 )
Awards and achievements
Internationally
Team Records
- 95 templates in a season with the Buffalo Sabres (NHL 1992/93 )
- 148 points in a season with the Buffalo Sabres (NHL 1992/93 )