Hockey Hall Of Fame

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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