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* Traded to Pittsburgh in 2007.
* Traded to Pittsburgh in 2007.
* Signed with Montreal as a free agent on July 3, 2008
* Signed with Montreal as a free agent on July 3, 2008
Retired on August 2 2010


==Career statistics==
==Career statistics==

Revision as of 00:40, 4 August 2010

Georges Laraque
Born (1976-12-07) December 7, 1976 (age 47)
Montreal, QC, CAN
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 245 lb (111 kg; 17 st 7 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Right
NHL team
Former teams		 retired
Edmonton Oilers
Phoenix Coyotes
Pittsburgh Penguins
Montreal Canadiens
NHL draft 31st overall, 1995
Edmonton Oilers
Playing career 1996–2010

Georges Laraque (French pronunciation: [ʒɔʁʒ laʁak]; born December 7, 1976) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward, who last played with the Montreal Canadiens before his contract was bought out in 2010. He is also a host for CFRN and deputy leader of the Green Party of Canada. During his NHL career he played for the Edmonton Oilers, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Montreal Canadiens. Georges Laraque was born in the city of Montreal, Quebec.

Playing career

Laraque entered the QMJHL, where he played for a variety of teams. In 173 games at the junior level, Laraque stockpiled 107 points and 661 penalty minutes. Laraque was a member of the 1996 Granby Prédateurs team which won the Memorial Cup.

After finishing junior, Laraque spent parts of three seasons with the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs.

Despite concerns about his skating, Laraque showed enough at the AHL-level for Edmonton to bring him to the NHL. Although he was something of a power forward in junior, Laraque is considered primarily as an enforcer at the NHL level. His 6'3" frame and his habit of fighting made him one of the most feared forwards in the league. He was unanimously awarded the 'Best Fighter' award from The Hockey News in 2003. He was named the number one enforcer by Sports Illustrated in 2008. Despite his reputation as a fighting-only player, Laraque has had offensive bursts during his career and on February 21, 2000, Laraque scored a hat trick against the Los Angeles Kings and was also named the game's first star.

During the NHL lockout, he played in Sweden, signing on with AIK. In the 2006 off-season, Laraque was up for free agency and wanted to stay in Edmonton and play. He even said he was willing to take a salary cut if the Oilers accepted on giving him a long-term, no-trade clause deal. The Oilers did not agree with Laraque's demand for a no-trade clause thus the contract was never signed. On July 5, 2006, Laraque signed with the Phoenix Coyotes. He scored his first goal as a Coyote against Edmonton on October 26, 2006.

On July 3, 2008, Laraque signed a contract as a free agent with the Montreal Canadiens. He elected to wear number 17 with the Canadien Hockey Club rather than his usual 27, which was Alex Kovalev's number at the time. One of the main reasons why Montreal sought Laraque was to add toughness; in the previous year's playoffs, they had been outplayed physically by the Philadelphia Flyers, and in the first round, they had difficulty countering Boston Bruin Milan Lucic.[1] On November 21, 2009 Laraque was suspended 5 games after nailing Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall on a knee to knee hit.[2] On January 21, 2010, the Montreal Canadiens officially announced that they would buy out the final season of his contract and subsequently asked him to stay away from the team for the rest of the season.[3] His contract was officially bought out on June 15, 2010.[4] Because of the buyout, he subsequently announced his retirement.

Political career

On February 13, 2010, officially joined the Green Party of Canada.[5] On July 31, 2010, Laraque was officially named the party's Deputy Leader.[6]

Personal

Laraque's parents were both born in Haiti.[7] He is known as "Big Georges" or simply "BGL". Laraque became a vegan to protest animal abuse by the meat industry.[8]

In the off-season, Laraque resides in Edmonton, which he considers his home away from home. On Fridays during the off-season, Laraque can often be heard hosting Team 1260 in Edmonton. Laraque also commits a lot of his time to local charity work to help the local people of Edmonton, Pittsburgh and in response to the 2010 earthquake, the people of Haiti.

Georges was recently announced as the new spokesperson for Chatham, Ontario based Internet and landline phone provider, TekSavvy Solutions, Inc. On February 12, 2010, Laraque announced that he was joining the Green Party of Canada.[9]

On May 21, 2010, Georges Laraque squared off with Georges St.-Pierre for 3 rounds of grappling for takedowns on TSN tv show Off The Record. Laraque didn't score a single takedown.

Transactions

  • Signed with Phoenix as a free agent in 2006
  • Traded to Pittsburgh in 2007.
  • Signed with Montreal as a free agent on July 3, 2008

Retired on August 2 2010

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1993–94 Saint-Jean Lynx QMJHL 70 11 11 22 142 4 0 0 0 7
1994–95 Saint-Jean Lynx QMJHL 62 19 22 41 259 7 1 1 2 42
1995–96 Laval Titan Collège Français QMJHL 11 8 13 21 76 — — — — —
1995–96 Saint-Hyacinthe Lasers QMJHL 8 3 4 7 59 — — — — —
1995–96 Granby Prédateurs QMJHL 22 9 7 16 125 18 7 6 13 104
1996–97 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 73 14 20 34 179 15 1 3 4 12
1997–98 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 46 10 20 30 154 3 0 0 0 11
1997–98 Edmonton Oilers NHL 11 0 0 0 59 — — — — —
1998–99 Edmonton Oilers NHL 39 3 2 5 57 4 0 0 0 2
1998–99 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 25 6 8 14 93 — — — — —
1999–00 Edmonton Oilers NHL 76 8 8 16 123 5 0 1 1 6
2000–01 Edmonton Oilers NHL 82 13 16 29 148 6 1 1 2 8
2001–02 Edmonton Oilers NHL 80 5 14 19 157 — — — — —
2002–03 Edmonton Oilers NHL 64 6 7 13 110 6 1 3 4 4
2003–04 Edmonton Oilers NHL 66 6 11 17 99 — — — — —
2005–06 Edmonton Oilers NHL 72 2 10 12 73 15 1 1 2 44
2006–07 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 56 5 17 22 52 — — — — —
2006–07 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 17 0 2 2 18 2 0 0 0 0
2007–08 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 71 4 9 13 141 15 1 2 3 4
2008–09 Montreal Canadiens NHL 33 0 2 2 61 4 0 0 0 4
2009–10 Montreal Canadiens NHL 28 1 2 3 28 — — — — —
NHL totals 695 53 100 153 1126 57 4 8 12 72

See also

References

  1. ^ Hickey, Pat (2008-10-27). "Laraque brings missing fear factor". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2009-04-18. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ Template:Http://www.hockeyfights.com/quickhits/qh/entry/george-laraques-suspension/
  3. ^ "NHL Canadiens to part ways with winger Laraque". TSN.ca. 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  4. ^ "Canadiens buy out Georges Laraque". NHL. 2010-06-15. Retrieved 2010-06-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ http://greenparty.ca/media-release/2010-02-13/nhl-star-player-georges-laraque-joins-green-party-canada
  6. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/07/31/green-party-laraque.html
  7. ^ "Georges Laraque concerned about family in Haiti". Kelowna.com. 2010-01-14. Retrieved 2010-01-14. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ "Georges Laraque profile". GeorgesLaraque.com. 2009-10-13. Retrieved 2009-10-13. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ Murphy, Jessica (2010-02-13). "Ex-Hab Georges Laraque joins forces with Green Party". Globe and Mail. Montreal, Quebec: CTVglobemedia. Retrieved 2010-02-14. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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