Pat LaFontaine’s Legacy Through the Eyes of Bryan Trottier and Patrick Flatley | New York Islanders
LaFontaine joins Trottier (2001) and Flatley (2012) as Isles Hall of Famers. To this day, their brotherhood transcends decades.
“Very excited for him, it’s well-deserved and overdue,” Flatley said. “We’re just reminiscing over joining the Islanders together and how valuable it was to have someone of your own peer group sharing the same moments. So, we’re very fortunate.”
LaFontaine and Flatley were rookies in the 1983-84 season, jumping right in with an accomplished, veteran Islanders team fresh off four straight Stanley Cups. They leaned on each other, sharing the experience as two young kids who were in it together, looking to make an impact. They made their NHL debuts on the same day, lacing up on Feb. 29, 1984 against the Winnipeg Jets.
“We were roommates, so we were very nervous before the game, we had a few practices,” Flatley recalled. “So, Patty and I were just so excited to be in the NHL and looking forward to our first game, and at the same time just having a barrel of laughs the whole way the Winnipeg.”
The tight-knit group of vets showed LaFontaine and Flatley some tough love.
“I hit Denis Potvin in practice once, and he surgically put his stick right into my mouth after that,” Flatley said with a laugh. “And Patty’s like, ‘is Denis Potvin mean?’ So, we’d laugh about that. And I go, ‘I guess you’re not supposed to hit Denis Potvin in practice.’ So, we both learned that.”
