Andre Lacroix, original Flyer and WHA's all-time scoring leader, dies at 81
The centre played in the Flyers' first season and set the WHA career records for points, assists and games played.
Andre Lacroix, who played for the Philadelphia Flyers in their first NHL season and retired as the most prolific scorer the World Hockey Association ever had, has died at 81. The Flyers announced his death on Oct. 27.
Born in Lauzon, Quebec, Lacroix broke into the NHL with the expansion Flyers in 1967-68 and spent parts of four seasons in Philadelphia, playing 245 games. The centre was the club's top scorer in back-to-back years, with 56 points (24 goals, 32 assists) in 1968-69 and 58 points (22 goals, 36 assists) in 1969-70. Philadelphia dealt him to the Chicago Black Hawks before the 1971-72 season.
The WHA's arrival in 1972 changed his career. Lacroix signed with the Philadelphia Blazers and won the new league's first scoring title with 124 points (50 goals, 74 assists). Over seven WHA seasons he also skated for the New York Golden Blades/Jersey Knights, San Diego Mariners, Houston Aeros and New England Whalers.
His best year came in 1974-75, his first in San Diego, when he took a second scoring title with 147 points, 106 of them assists, in 78 games. Bobby Orr, with 102 assists for the Boston Bruins in 1970-71, was the only other professional player to have reached 100 assists in a season at that point. Wayne Gretzky passed Lacroix's total with 109 assists for the Edmonton Oilers in 1980-81.
When the WHA folded into the NHL in 1979, Lacroix held the league's career records for points (798), assists (547) and games played (551). He spent one last season with the Hartford Whalers in 1979-80 before retiring, finishing his NHL career with 198 points (79 goals, 119 assists) in 325 regular-season games and seven points (two goals, five assists) in 16 playoff games.
Lacroix also represented Canada against the Soviet Union in the 1974 Summit Series, the WHA's eight-game showdown with the Soviet national team. He had seven points (one goal, six assists) in the series, and his goal in Game 2 at Maple Leaf Gardens on Sept. 19, 1974, stood as the winner in a 4-1 victory, Canada's only win of the series.
