André Lacroix (ice hockey)
| André Lacroix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
June 5, 1945 | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | ||
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
NHL Philadelphia Flyers Chicago Black Hawks Hartford Whalers WHA Philadelphia Blazers New York Golden Blades Jersey Knights San Diego Mariners Houston Aeros New England Whalers AHL Quebec Aces | ||
| National team | Canada | ||
| Playing career | 1964–1980 | ||
André Joseph Lacroix (born June 5, 1945) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League and the World Hockey Association. As a youth, Lacroix excelled as a centre for the minor league Peterborough Petes and Quebec Aces before finding his way into the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers in the middle of the 1967-68 season. He recorded 14 points in 18 games to close out the season before becoming part of a forward line that saw him lead the team in points in the next two seasons with 50 points each. He closed out his tenure in Philadelphia with his third straight 20-goal season before being traded to the Chicago Black Hawks, where he struggled for one season.
In 1972, with the advent of the newly created World Hockey Association, Lacroix joined the Philadelphia Blazers and immediately had his best season as a professional at the time with 50 goals and 74 assists to win the scoring trophy. Refusing to move with the team to Vancouver, they traded him after one season to the New York Golden Blades. Despite organizational troubles that saw the team move multiple times to Jersey and San Diego, Lacroix had a 100-point season in each of the four seasons he played with the franchise, which included a historic 1974-75 season where he had 106 assists to make him the only WHA player with 100 assists for a season and win the scoring title once again. Lacroix played with the Houston Aeros in 1977-78 before the team folded and had his sixth and final 100-point season. In the final season of the WHA, Lacroix played for the New England Whalers and had 88 points. In 1979, the team joined the NHL, and he played one more season with them, recording 17 points in 29 games to close his career out at the age of 34. As the only player in WHA history with six 100-point seasons, Lacroix was the all-time WHA leader in points with 798 in 551 games and is often referred to as one of the best players in the history of the WHA. He was inducted into the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame in 2010 as an inaugural member.