Hall Of Fame Honor Puts Icing on LaFontaine's
Career
By Mark Herrmann, Staff Correspondent for
Newsday
November 4, 2003, Toronto -- From his vantage
point, behind a lectern and on top of his sport,
Pat LaFontaine saw one last time that his career
didn't come up short after all. Not even close,
by his measure. He took the time to recall what
hockey had given him, not what it had held back.
So there was no regret that he had joined the
Islanders dynasty in 1984, just in time to see
it head toward collapse.
There were no recriminations over having been
part of the generation inspired by the 1980
Miracle of Lake Placid, then playing on two U.S.
Olympic teams (1984 and 1998) that flopped.
He definitely expressed no remorse over the
repeated concussions that cut down his career in
its prime, made him retire at 33, and prevented
him from achieving gaudy milestones such as 500
goals.
No, there were no misgivings from him. Not from
the 38-year-old husband and father of three who
has a good, healthy, charitable life on Long
Island and who last night was inducted into the
Hockey Hall of Fame. "It is an amazing honor,"
he said, his voice shaking with emotion. "It's
something my family and I will cherish forever."
LaFontaine always has been the type to see the
glass as half-full rather than half-empty, but
last night it was overflowing. It was a night to
celebrate his 468 goals and 1,013 points in 15
years with the Islanders, Buffalo Sabres and
Rangers. It was a time to note that the Hall
considered him one of the top American-born
players in history.
"I owe so much to this game of hockey," he said,
at the end of a speech in which he thanked
everyone from coaches and teammates to his
family, agent and arena crews. "I leave it with
no regrets, I leave it with my health and with a
beautiful family. This great game has allowed me
to have so much in my life."
His life seemed fuller last night, as he spoke
more of his relationships than his achievements.
"I learned from a young age how fortunate I was
just to be playing this game. And throughout my
career, I've met people whose situations weren't
as fortunate. I think the thing I'm probably
most proud of is that I was in a position to
help people," he said in an interview earlier.
"When you talk to guys who have gone through
post-concussion syndrome, you learn it changes
your perspective on life. You see you don't have
as much control as you think you do. And when
you let go, you have a chance to reflect and
really appreciate the little things. Having gone
through some of those injuries, having looked at
my life not as 'What could have been,' but 'What
was,' I realized you can truly embrace what you
do have."
He made it as far as a hockey player can go, and
he laughed at the thought he might have regrets.
"I reflect back on when I was a kid," he said.
"I started on double runners and the first time
I tried skating, I cried because it was so hard,
and the other kids made it look so easy."
For LaFontaine, there was no ambivalence in
entering the Hall with goaltender Grant Fuhr,
who denied him his only real shot at the Cup.
Fuhr, who last night became the first black
member of the Hall, won the first of his five
Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers in the
1984 Finals against the Islanders. "He's the
greatest goalie I ever faced," LaFontaine said.
What's more, the two men became close friends
when they were Sabres teammates in the 1990s.
"To go in with him makes it even more special,"
Fuhr said.
The two honorees in the builders category also
had LaFontaine ties. Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch
was a patron of Detroit youth hockey when the
center was a teenager. ("I think he made us
realize that maybe some of these kids can grow
up and make the NHL because he showed such
outstanding skill," Ilitch said.) Ottawa junior
coaching legend Brian Kilrea spent two years as
an Islanders assistant coach, and LaFontaine
found him especially encouraging at a time when
he needed encouragement.
Their presence yesterday helped LaFontaine
celebrate what he called "the chapters of my
life." He reverently spoke of his now-fellow
Hall of Fame Islanders, and how much they taught
him on and off the ice. He mentioned that he met
his wife on Long Island. He also fondly recalled
"coming into my own" with the Sabres, for whom
he had 148 points in 1992-93. He lavishly
praised the Rangers organization and fans for
treating him well in one last season that gave
him closure.
Even the injuries got their due from LaFontaine.
In the many times he was forced to stay away
from the rink, he visited children's hospitals
and realized his own problems were small in
comparison. He spoke of the late Robert
Schwegler, a hospital-bound child whose only
smiles in his last months occurred when
LaFontaine played video games with him.
It's the sort of thing that led him to form the
Companions in Courage Foundation
(www.CiC16.org). His new goal is establishing
high-tech interactive playrooms in hospitals so
children can watch plasma screen TVs, listen to
music or hold teleconferences with their
grandparents. "It's an oasis, where they can get
some of their life back," said a man whose life
was full and on display last night.
"To be considered a Hall of Famer, to be
selected in this exclusive club," he said, "it's
something that normally doesn't happen to a boy
from St. Louis who started on double runners."
Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.
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