Georges Laraque Number One Enforcer in the NHL

Before joining the NHL, Laraque skated sporadically for three seasons with the Hamilton Bulldogs team, under the AHL banner. While skating for the NHL, in 2003, he won the Best Fighter award, given by The Hockey News, and was also recognized as the 2008 top enforcer by Sports Illustrated.

Georges Laraque, in 2006, was being considered as a free agent by the Edmonton Oilers. He tried to negotiate a contract, in which he would accept a cut in pay, if in exchange, the Oilers would include a no-trade clause, and sign him on as a long-term player. The Oilers refused to do so. Laraque went on to play for the Phoenix Coyotes that same year and then was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

A reversal of fortune occurred, when the Montréal Canadians sought to sign him as a free agent in 2008, noting his toughness as an enforcer the primary reason. Georges Laraque disappointed, when he initiated a forbidden knee-to-knee contact with Detroit Red Wings Defense player Niklas Kronwall, causing Laraque a five-game suspension. A couple of months later, the Canadian team let him go and bought out the rest of his contract on June 15, 2010.

His retirement from professional hockey followed not long after, due to two herniated disks. In a footnote, Laraque became recognized for the "Laraque Leap", when he would crash his body into the glass after a winning goal.

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