Former National Hockey League and World Hockey Association centre Andre Lacroix of Lauzon, Quebec passed away on Tuesday at the age of 81 according to Sam Carchidi of The Hockey News. Lacroix played six seasons in the National Hockey League with the Philadelphia Flyers (1968 to 1971), Chicago Black Hawks (1971 to 1972), and Hartford Whalers (1979 to 1980).
In 325 NHL regular season games, Lacroix had 79 goals and 119 assists for 198 points. He was a -31 with 44 penalty minutes, 71 power-play points, 11 game-winning goals, 702 shots on goal, and three hat tricks. In 16 NHL postseason games, Lacroix had two goals and five assists for seven points. He was a -9 with five power-play points and 27 shots on goal. Lacroix’s most notable NHL postseason game came on April 13, 1968. Lacroix had three assists in a 6-1 Flyers win over the St. Louis Blues in game five of the quarterfinal series.
However, Lacroix was best remembered for his time in the World Hockey Association where he was simply a superstar. Twice Lacroix won the Bill Hunter Trophy, which was presented to the WHA leading scorer. He had 124 points with the Philadelphia Blazers during the 1972-73 WHA regular season, and 147 points with the San Diego Mariners during the 1974-75 season.
Twice Lacroix led the WHA in most assists in a single season. He had 80 assists with the New Jersey Knights in 1973-74 and 106 assists with the Mariners in 1974-75. In 551 WHA regular season games, Lacroix had 251 goals and 547 assists for 798 points. He was the WHA’s all-time leader in assists and points.
