On September 29 in Rangers history: Rolling the dice on LaFontaine

What happened on September 29 in the history of the New York Rangers

On this date in 1997, the New York Rangers traded for Pat LaFontaine,  one of the best U.S. born players to every play in the NHL.  They also rolled the dice, trading for a player who had suffered as many as ten concussions and was one hit away from ending his career.

The Rangers sent a second round draft pick and future considerations to the Sabres who had refused to allow LaFontaine to report to training camp, saying that he was not medically fit to play.  LaFontaine had gotten conflicting medical reports that said he could play.

He had been limited to only 13 games the prior season after suffering a concussion on October 17.  He had returned to action briefly, but had not skated since November 7.  In his last four seasons in Buffalo he had missed 171 games due to concussions.

When healthy, LaFontaine was one of the best centers in the NHL, scoring over 40 goals for six straight seasons and in 1992-93 he had 53 goals and 148 points.  At age 32, he joined a Ranger team that had seen Mark Messier defect to the Vancouver Canucks over the summer and he would be a teammate of Wayne Gretzky.

LaFontaine lived up to reputation with the Rangers. He tied for the team goal scoring lead with 23 and had 62 points in 67 games.  He notched his 1,000th point on January 22, 1998 in a loss to Philadelphia at the Garden.

He also lived up to his reputation for fragility, although he had not missed a game all season, he sustained yet another concussion in an accidental collision with teammate Mike Keane in a March 16 game in Ottawa.  That ended his season and he decided to retire after the campaign had concluded.

LaFontaine retired with a lifetime points per game average of 1.17, the best of any U.S. born player. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003.  He was also the only NHL player to play only for the three teams from New York State as he had started his career with the Islanders before playing in Buffalo.

Today’s birthdays

25 NHL players have been born on September 29 with three former Rangers among them.

Walt Tkaczuk was born on this date in 1947 in Emsdetten, Germany. The center played his entire 14 year career with the Rangers and was best known as an excellent defensive forward who could also score.  He was the only player who was a member of both Ranger teams that made it to the Stanley Cup Final in the 1970s.    Although he was born in Germany, his family moved to Canada when he was two and he was the first German-born player to appear in the NHL.  He centered the “Bulldog Line” with Bill Fairbairn and Dave Balon and later, Steve Vickers.  His 945 games played is second to Rod Gilbert among Ranger forwards.  His career plus/minus of +184 is the best in franchise history since that statistic was first tracked in 1960.

Benoit Pouliot was born on this date in 1986 in Alfred, Ontario.  The left winger played only one season with the Rangers, but he picked a great season to do it.  After playing for three teams in four years, he signed with the Blueshirts in July 2013 and immediately meshed on a line with Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello.  What resulted was his best year with 36 points and a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.  It also resulted in a raise from the $1.3 million he made in New York to a five-year, $20 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers the following season.   He was a disappointment in Edmonton and they bought out that contract in 2017.  He retired at age 31 after the 2017-18 season when he played in Buffalo.

Rudy Poeschek was born on this date in 1966 in Kamloops, British Columbia. A tough as nails defenseman, he was a 12th round draft pick in 1985.  He is one of two 12th round picks by the Rangers to actually make it to New York, along with Sergei Nemchinov.   In 1988-89, his one full season in the NHL, he played 52 games and led the team with 199 penalty minutes including 25 major penalties.  The Blueshirts traded him to Winnipeg in 1991 and he played parts of nine seasons with the Jets, Lightning and Blues before retiring in 2001.  His average of 2.14 penalty minutes per game is 99th all-time in the NHL among players who have appeared in 350 games.