Top 100 Oilers: No. 82 — Georges Laraque

Notable

Born in Montreal, Quebec, the Oilers selected Laraque with the 31st overall pick in the 1995 NHL Draft from the St. Jean Lynx. The big winger spent the 1995-96 QMJHL season between three teams, eventually winning the Memorial Cup with the Granby Predateurs.

After scoring 14 goals and 34 points over 73 games for the AHL Hamilton Bulldogs in his professional debut, Laraque impressed Edmonton’s coaching staff during the 1997-98 pre-season, scrapping with established enforcer Donald Brashear. The two heavyweights would drop the gloves seven times over the course of a decade.

Laraque scored 10 goals and 30 points over 40 games for the Bulldogs in 1997-98 and was called up to make his NHL debut with the Oilers. The big winger racked up 59 penalty minutes over his first 11 games with Edmonton. His first big-league fight came against Todd Simpson during a Battle of Alberta.

Over eight seasons with the Oilers, Laraque tallied 43 goals and 111 points while picking up 826 penalty minutes. He also scored three goals and nine points in 36 playoff games with Edmonton.

Laraque signed with the Phoenix Coyotes ahead of the 2006-07 season and was moved to the Pittsburgh Penguins ahead of the trade deadline. Michelle Therrien, who had been Laraque’s coach in the QMJHL with Granby, wanted to bring the enforcer on board to protect a young Sidney Crosby.

The Pens made a run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2007-08 but were taken down by the Detroit Red Wings. After that, Laraque joined his hometown Montreal Canadiens to finish his NHL career.

The Story

During his time in Edmonton, Laraque grew into one of the most feared fighters in hockey. He also became a fan favourite — not because he could go toe-to-toe with anybody, but because of his lovable personality.

When he wasn’t on the ice, Laraque gave a tremendous amount of time to the community. His involvement with fans ranged from visiting children in the hospital and reading books at schools to hosting a show on the radio and showing up at outdoor rinks.

The most memorable moment of Laraque’s playing career with the Oilers came during the 1999-00 season. During a February game against the Los Angeles Kings, the big winger popped off with three goals, highlighted by a slick backhand move to complete the hat trick.

What Brownlee said

As is the cliché with tough guys, Laraque was a gentle, big-hearted man when he wasn’t at work. In fact, he re-set the bar. When Georges wasn’t making visits to hospitals and schools – on his own time in addition to trips organized the by the Oilers – or working with charities, you could find him playing road hockey in his driveway with kids from the neighborhood. He not only signed jerseys for fans, he delivered them to their houses. If you wanted an NHL player to show up at your kid’s birthday party, Georges was your man. He was generous to a fault.

Laraque’s compassion knew no bounds. I recall a cell phone conversation Georges had late one night on the bus with Stu Grimson, who’d been out of Nashville’s line-up for weeks with post-concussion symptoms after fighting Laraque. Grimson and Laraque threw down with each other every chance they got, and the last time would end the Reaper’s career. Georges called just to see how Grimson was doing, to offer support, to apologize for how things turned out. They talked for 10-15 minutes. “I feel bad,” he said.

Even after Laraque moved on to Phoenix, Pittsburgh and finally Montreal to close out his career after the 2006 Stanley Cup run, he kept a house in southwest Edmonton for several years. He’d host karaoke parties. He continued to work with charities here (and still does) and do guest spots on local radio. Montreal, where he grew up, is his home base, but Laraque still has a soft spot for Edmonton, where he played the best hockey of his career and endeared himself to many.

The Last 10

• No. 92 — Willy Lindstrom
• No. 91 — Sheldon Souray
• No. 90 — Pat Maroon
• No. 89 — Mark Napier
• No. 88 — Igor Ulanov
• No. 87 — Zdeno Ciger
• No. 86 — Devan Dubnyk
• No. 85 — Jaroslav Pouzar
• No. 84 — Jarret Stoll
• No. 83 — Bernie Nicholls