A little while back, Pat LaFontaine was going through his main and stumbled across a letter in his desk. The man who nominated him for the US Hockey Hall of Fame sent this letter to him over the summer.

“Herb Brooks sent me a letter a month before he passed away,” he said. “(Brooks) was the gentleman who nominated me for the US Hockey Hall of Fame.”

Brooks nominated four people for the Hall and in that brief note sent to LaFontaine he told the former center:

“Pat, you deserve this. You deserve to be in the US Hockey Hall of Fame. Looking forward to seeing you. All the best, Herb Brooks.”

It was stories like this one that the former Islander center shared to about 100 people at the New York Islander Booster Club Meeting on February 9.

During his career, the St. Louis native scored 468 goals and 545 assists for 1013 points. He scored more than 50 goals twice and over 40, seven times. He played for two Olympic teams and had stints in Buffalo and on Broadway to go with his seven and a half years on Long Island. The center had many memorable games but none other than the “Easter Classic” vs. Washington in 1987 that went into four overtimes.

“I get tired thinking about it,” he said. “It was one of those surreal nights. We were down three games to one and here we are in a seventh game and the goalies were unbelievable.”

After Bryan Trottier tied the game with seven minutes to go and the game went on to last seven and half-hours. LaFontaine said that the players used oxygen between the periods to keep them fresh and there were people eventually sleeping in the stands. At the beginning of the fourth overtime LaFontaine recalls a conversation he had on the ice with referee Andy Van Hellemond.

“Van Hellemond started the seventh period (fourth overtime) and he turns to me and says, ’Can you get this thing over with, I want top get home. You know what (Washington Goalie Bob Mason) is weak on his glove side just shoot over his glove,” LaFontaine recalled with a laugh.

The Center went on to score the winning goal in that game and even though the Islanders lost the next round to “Crazy Keenan” and the Flyers, that game might have been one of the most memorable in Islander history.

Getting into the Hall of Fame would be memorable for any athlete. For LaFontaine, it has been no exception. He found out driving over Throgs Neck Bridge. “I almost drove off the road,” he said. And said it was a “great summer” after finding out about his election in June and having the induction in November.
 

Besides being a great NHL player, LaFontaine was an Olympian in 1984 and 1998. He enjoyed both appearances, but feels that being an amateur Olympian was more special. The erstwhile center said that it was a more of a “pure thing” -- appearing  as an amateur to play for your country and he wished that the Olympic would go back to the amateurs only format, not just in hockey but all sports.

“That’s what made (the 1980 Olympic hockey team) so special and you will never see it again,” he said. “They were unknowns and the time and the history, you couldn’t have written a better script.”

Speaking of the 1980 team, LaFontaine mentioned the new movie “Miracle” saying that he was very pleased that they used “hockey players who can act” rather than “actors who can skate.” He also said that Michael Douglas was the original actor who was slated to play coach Herb Brooks, but was replaced by Kurt Russell since his skating ability was questionable.

“I thought Russell was terrific,” LaFontaine said. “Having met Herb and spoke to him and seeing (Russell) with the mouth and everything. He was terrific.”

Ultimately a series of concussions caused the end to LaFontaine’s career. He feels very fortunate to get out without any permanent injuries and hopes that the players today do the same.

“The most important thing is that these guys play too long,” he said. “There are a lot of stories where guys have permanent damage and it’s not worth it.”

He also hopes that current local stars, like Eric Lindros and Scott Stevens don’t come back if it means that they will risk a lasting injury that might effect the rest of their lives.

These days LaFontaine has settled on Long Island with his wife and three children. He is busy running his charity, Champions in Courage. This charity has teamed with Microsoft to improve hospital stays for children by building “playrooms” where the children can play and not fear having tests done to them or needles put in them.

“We are in the process of making three state of the art rooms,” he said. “We wanted to create a place where they can escape. A place to go to create art and music and videoconference their parents and friend. A place that is an oasis. The nice thing about it is that it’s a dream that is actually coming true.”

They are building these rooms right now at three tri-state area hospitals.