Georges Laraque

Georges Laraque

Laraque in 2016
Born (1976-12-07) December 7, 1976
Montreal, QC, CAN
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 260 lb (120 kg; 18 st 8 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shoots Right
2. divisjon team
Former teams		 Lokomotiv Fana
Edmonton Oilers
Phoenix Coyotes
Pittsburgh Penguins
Montreal Canadiens
NHL Draft 31st overall, 1995
Edmonton Oilers
Playing career 1996-–2010
2015-–present
Georges Laraque
Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Canada
In office
July 31, 2010 – October 17, 2013
Serving with Elizabeth May

Georges Edy Laraque (French pronunciation: ​[ʒɔʁʒ laʁak]; born December 7, 1976) is a Canadian ice hockey player, sports commentator, and politician. He currently plays for Lokomotiv Fana, an ice hockey team in Norway's Second Division. Laraque previously retired from hockey on August 10, 2010, after the Montreal Canadiens bought out his contract. He is a commentator for TVA Sports and most recently executive director of the fledgling Canadian Hockey League Players' Association.[1] During his 14-year National Hockey League (NHL) career, he played for the Edmonton Oilers, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Montreal Canadiens. From 2010 to 2013, he was one of two deputy leaders of the Green Party of Canada.

Hockey career

Laraque entered the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (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 two seasons with the American Hockey League's (AHL) Hamilton Bulldogs. On October 25, 1996, Laraque was involved in his first professional fight taking on Chris LiPuma of the Kentucky Thoroughblades.

On September 15, 1997 in a pre-season game, Laraque fought established heavyweight fighter Donald Brashear of the Vancouver Canucks in an attempt to impress the coaching staff. On November 15, 1997, Laraque was called up to the NHL and took part in his first career fight against Todd Simpson of the Calgary Flames. Laraque won the fight and would be victorious in four others before being reassigned to the AHL.

A year later, with much hard work to improve his game, Laraque showed enough at the AHL-level for Edmonton to bring him to the NHL on a regular basis. 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.

Laraque with the Penguins, April 2008.

During the 2004-2005 NHL lockout, he played in Sweden, signing on with AIK. The following season with the Oilers, on November 23, 2005 in a game against the Minnesota Wild. Laraque defeated the 6'7" 260 pound Derek Boogaard. 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 for agitating prospect Daniel Carcillo. Laraque's former junior coach and Penguins coach at the time Michel Therrien was heavily involved in this decision and believed that he was needed to protect the young stars in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

Laraque pictured during his time as a member of the Montreal Canadiens

On July 3, 2008, Laraque signed a contract as a free agent with the Montreal Canadiens. He elected to wear number 17 with the Canadiens 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.[2] On November 21, 2009 Laraque was suspended 5 games after hitting Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall with a knee to knee hit. On December 12, 2009, Laraque would enter his final fight taking on Eric Boulton of the Atlanta Thrashers. On January 21, 2010 the Montreal Canadiens released Laraque and announced they were planning to buy out the remainder of his contract.[3] His contract was officially bought out on June 15, 2010.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6]

While playing with the Oilers, Laraque was famous for his "Laraque Leap", in which he would smash his body against the glass at Northlands Coliseum after the Oilers scored a goal.[7]

Laraque came out of retirement in January 16, 2015, joining Norway's Lokomotiv Fana.[8]

Additionally, he is assistant coach of the Haiti street & ball hockey national team during the 2015 Streethockey World Championship in Zug, Switzerland.[9]

Political career

Wikinews has related news: Hockey player Georges Laraque joins Green Party of Canada

On February 13, 2010, Laraque joined the Green Party of Canada.[10][11] On July 31, 2010, Laraque was officially named one of the party's Deputy Leaders.[12] On July 9, 2013 he announced he would run for the federal Green Party in the by-election in Bourassa.[13] On October 17, 2013 Laraque resigned as deputy leader of the Green Party of Canada and as candidate in Bourassa riding.[14]

Personal life

Laraque's parents were both born in Haiti and immigrated to Canada; he was born in Montreal, Quebec.[15] During his NHL career, he was nicknamed "Big Georges," sometimes shortened to "BGL."

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 commits considerable time to local charity work to help the people of Edmonton, Pittsburgh and, following the 2010 earthquake, Haiti.

Business and sports events

Laraque became a vegan in 2009 to protest animal abuse by the meat industry. He is an investor in two raw vegan restaurants called Crudessence.[16][17]

On May 21, 2010, Laraque squared off with world welterweight mixed martial arts (MMA) champion Georges St-Pierre for three rounds of grappling for takedowns on TSN TV show Off The Record. Laraque did not score any takedowns. The same year, Laraque appeared in Season 2 of CBC's Battle of the Blades with partner Anabelle Langlois.

In 2011, Laraque took part in the CBC's Canada Reads literary competition. He was the celebrity defender for author Angie Abdou's The Bone Cage.[18]

On November 8, 2011, Laraque published an autobiography entitled Georges Laraque: The Story of the NHL's Unlikeliest Tough Guy.

On July 9, 2012, Perry Boskus, president of a Florida-based company that produced synthetic ice sheets which Laraque sold in Canada, issued a press release accusing the player of fraud. One day later, Boskus retracted these allegations.[19]

On November 17, 2014, Laraque challenged Quebec Women's cycling champion Lex Albrecht to a bike race up Mount Royal. Laraque required medical attention following the race, which he lost to Albrecht.[20]

Transactions

Achievements

Awards

Laraque receives Community Service Award during a pregame ceremony, April 2008.

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1993–94Saint-Jean LynxQMJHL7011112214240007
1994–95Saint-Jean LynxQMJHL62192241259711242
1995–96Laval Titan Collège FrançaisQMJHL118132176—————
1995–96Saint-Hyacinthe LasersQMJHL834759—————
1995–96Granby PrédateursQMJHL229716125187613104
1996–97Hamilton BulldogsAHL731420341791513412
1997–98Hamilton BulldogsAHL46102030154300011
1997–98Edmonton OilersNHL1100059—————
1998–99Edmonton OilersNHL393255740002
1998–99Hamilton BulldogsAHL25681493—————
1999–00Edmonton OilersNHL76881612350116
2000–01Edmonton OilersNHL8213162914861128
2001–02Edmonton OilersNHL8051419157—————
2002–03Edmonton OilersNHL64671311061344
2003–04Edmonton OilersNHL666111799—————
2005–06Edmonton OilersNHL7221012731511244
2006–07Phoenix CoyotesNHL565172252—————
2006–07Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL170221820000
2007–08Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL714913141151234
2008–09Montreal CanadiensNHL330226140004
2009–10Montreal CanadiensNHL2812328—————
NHL totals 695 53 100 153 1126 57 4 8 12 72

See also

References

  1. ↑ Macleod, Robert (21 August 2012). "Georges Laraque named executive director of junior hockey players union". Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  2. ↑ Hickey, Pat (2008-10-27). "Laraque brings missing fear factor". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
  3. ↑ "NHL Canadiens to part ways with winger Laraque". TSN.ca. 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  4. ↑ "Canadiens buy out Georges Laraque". National Hockey League. 2010-06-15. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
  5. ↑ Georges Laraque (10 August 2010). "Georges Blog August 10, 2010". Georges Blog. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  6. ↑ Georges Laraque (25 January 2010). "Georges Blog January 25, 2010". Georges Blog. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  7. ↑ Weekes, Don Hardcore Hockey Trivia, Greystone Books, Vancouver, 2004
  8. ↑ Ellingsen, Roy (January 16, 2015). "NHL-legende til norsk 2. divisjon". Bergens Tidende. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  9. ↑ http://zug2015.com/en/teams/b-pool/group-4/hai-haiti/
  10. ↑ "NHL star player Georges Laraque joins the Green Party of Canada | Green Party of Canada". Greenparty.ca. 2010-02-13. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
  11. ↑ Murphy, Jessica (2010-02-13). "Ex-Hab Georges Laraque joins forces with Green Party". Globe and Mail. Montreal, Quebec: CTVglobemedia. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
  12. ↑ "Green Party names ex-NHLer Laraque deputy leader". CBC News. July 31, 2010. Archived from the original on August 3, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Ex-NHL player Georges Laraque taking a shot at politics". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  14. ↑ "Ex-NHL enforcer Georges Laraque hangs up political skates to fight fraud charges". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. October 17, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Georges Laraque concerned about family in Haiti". Kelowna.com. 2010-01-14. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
  16. ↑ "Georges Laraque profile". GeorgesLaraque.com. 2009-10-13. Retrieved 2009-10-13.
  17. ↑ Nicoud, Anabelle (2010-08-15). "Fierté gaie: un défilé de toutes les couleurs". La Presse. Montreal, Quebec: Gesca. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  18. ↑ "Canada Reads with Jian Ghomeshi | CBC Radio". Cbc.ca. 2010-11-18. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
  19. ↑ "CANOE - SLAM! Sports - Hockey - News: Laraque incensed by accusations". Slam.canoe.ca. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
  20. ↑ "George Laraque loses bike race".
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