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Georges Laraque

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Georges Laraque
Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Canada
Incumbent
Assumed office
July 31, 2010
Serving with Adriane Carr
Personal details
Born (1976-12-07) December 7, 1976 (age 47)
Montreal, Quebec
Political partyGreen Party
OccupationRetired professional ice hockey player in the NHL

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 a commentator for TVA sport television in Montreal,Quebec, Canada, 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.

Hockey career

Georges Laraque
Born (1976-12-07) December 7, 1976 (age 47)
Montreal, QC, Canada
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 260 lb (118 kg; 18 st 8 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Right
Played for Edmonton Oilers
Phoenix Coyotes
Pittsburgh Penguins
Montreal Canadiens
NHL draft 31st overall, 1995
Edmonton Oilers
Playing career 1996–2010

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 hockey, 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 2004-2005 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. Laraque was then traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for the 2007-08 season.

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 hitting Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall with a knee to knee hit. On January 21, 2010 the Montreal Canadiens released Laraque and announced they were planning to buy out the remainder of his contract.[2] His contract was officially bought out on June 15, 2010.[3] Because Laraque had been suffering from two herniated discs in his back during the last season and a half that he had been playing, he subsequently announced his retirement from professional hockey.[4] Laraque took advantage of being released by the Canadiens to offer his help to Haiti, his country of ancestry, and began raising money to rebuild the Grace Children's Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in association with World Vision and the NHLPA.[5].

While playing with the Oilers, Laraque was famous for his "Laraque Leap", in which he would smash his body against the glass at the Rexall Place after the Oilers scored a goal.[6]

Political career

On February 13, 2010, Laraque officially joined the Green Party of Canada.[7][8] On July 31, 2010, Laraque was officially named to the party's Male Deputy Leader position.[9]

Personal life

Laraque's parents were both born in Haiti.[10] He is known as "Big Georges" or simply "BGL". Laraque became a vegan in 2009 to protest animal abuse by the meat industry. He owns 2 raw vegan restaurant called Crudessence.[11][12]

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 The Team 1260, an afternoon radio sports program 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.

In February, 2010, Laraque was announced as a "goodwill ambassador" for TekSavvy Solutions, an internet and landline phone provider based in Chatham, Ontario.[13]

In 2011, Laraque took part in the CBC's Canada Reads literary competition as the celebrity defender for author Angie Abdou's The Bone Cage.[14]

Laraque struggled as a young Black athlete in a predominately white sport. He faced numerous challenges growing up, and was always forced to deal with the racism around him. The racism got so bad and hate-filled when finally George’s dad pulled him out of hockey for a year when he was 12. Laraque loved hockey and decided to play again despite the fact that he was treated poorly by his opponents, who swore and spit at him on the ice. Laraque was widely known for fighting in the NHL, which he learned out of necessity as he grew up always having to defend himself. Laraque dedicated the fact that he made the NHL to all the people that verbally abused him growing up.[15]

On May 21, 2010, Georges Laraque squared off with world welterweight mixed martial arts champion Georges St.-Pierre for 3 rounds of grappling for takedowns on TSN TV show Off The Record. Laraque did not score a single takedown.

In november 4, 2011 Laraque release his first book (autobiography), a best seller already called "The story of the NHL's unlikliest tough guy" and in french "La force d'y croire" [1]

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. ^ "NHL Canadiens to part ways with winger Laraque". TSN.ca. 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  3. ^ "Canadiens buy out Georges Laraque". NHL. 2010-06-15. Retrieved 2010-06-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ Georges Laraque (10 August 2010). "Georges Blog August 10, 2010". Georges Blog. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  5. ^ Georges Laraque (25 January 2010). "Georges Blog January 25, 2010". Georges Blog. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  6. ^ Weekes, Don “Hardcore Hockey Trivia”, Greystone Books, Vancouver, 2004
  7. ^ http://greenparty.ca/media-release/2010-02-13/nhl-star-player-georges-laraque-joins-green-party-canada
  8. ^ 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)
  9. ^ "Green Party names ex-NHLer Laraque deputy leader". CBC News. July 31, 2010.
  10. ^ "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)
  11. ^ "Georges Laraque profile". GeorgesLaraque.com. 2009-10-13. Retrieved 2009-10-13. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ Nicoud, Anabelle (2010-08-15). "Fierté gaie: un défilé de toutes les couleurs". La Presse. Montreal, Quebec: Gesca. Retrieved 2010-08-21. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |1= and |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ Teksavvy News
  14. ^ CBC Canada Reads
  15. ^ http://everyjoe.com/sports/georges-laraques-struggles-with-racism/
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