Mike LaFontaine
American-born NHL center who played for all three New York State teams and scored 1,013 points.
Patrick Michael LaFontaine (born February 22, 1965) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played as a center in the National Hockey League (NHL) and spent his entire playing career with the league's New York State-based teams. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003.
- Role
- Center / Forward
- Team
- New York Islanders
- Era
- 1980s Dynasty (early-to-mid 1980s)
- Draft
- 1981 NHL Entry Draft, 5th overall
- Famous Line
- Trottier – Gillies – LaFontaine
- Stanley Cups
- Won with Islanders in the early 1980s (part of the four-peat era)
- Playing Style
- Explosive speed, elite puck-handling, playmaking center
Lore & Background
LaFontaine played for the New York Islanders from 1983 until 1991, the Buffalo Sabres from 1991 until 1997, and the New York Rangers from 1997 until his retirement in 1998. He scored 468 goals and 1,013 points. His 1.17 points per game is the best among American-born players. In 2017, he was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players'. He served as president of hockey operations for the Buffalo Sabres from November 2013 to March 2014.
In Their Own Story
The Coliseum was packed, the kind of packed where the noise isn't a sound anymore but a pressure in your chest. Second period, Islanders up by one, and LaFontaine wins the draw in his own zone. He doesn't look up. He just *goes*—stickhandling through the neutral zone with the puck dancing on the end of his blade like it's attached to his hand. A defender reaches for him. LaFontaine's shoulders drop, his inside skate cuts, and suddenly there's a gap, and then there's no gap, and then there's a defender on the ice and LaFontaine is already past the blue line, already looking for Trottier, already *thinking* two plays ahead. The Coliseum erupts before the play is even over, because they know—every single one of them knows—what's coming next. The pass. The one-timer. The net bulging. And then the roar, the real roar, the kind that makes the glass vibrate and the beer in your cup ripple. That was LaFontaine. That was the early '80s. That was the Islanders.
Reader's Guide
LaFontaine was selected by the Islanders third overall in the 1983 NHL entry draft. He scored the winning goal in the 'Easter Epic' playoff game in 1987. He recorded a personal-best 148 points in 1992–93 with the Sabres. He is one of six players to skate for all three New York State-based NHL teams. His career was ended by concussions.
Did You Know?
- LaFontaine's 148 points in 1992–93 are the most by an American-born player in a single NHL season.
- He was awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy in 1994–95.
- The Buffalo Sabres retired his number 16 in 2006.
- He was inducted into the Islanders' Hall of Fame on December 13, 2025.
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