Flyers legend passes away at 81 years old

The hockey world lost one of its most prolific and underappreciated scorers this week, a player whose career spanned two professional leagues, multiple decades, and some of the most colorful chapters in the sport's history. The Philadelphia Flyers announced the passing of André Lacroix, who died at the age of 81. For those who followed the WHA or remember the early days of the Flyers franchise, Lacroix was a name that carried real weight, even if the broader hockey world sometimes overlooked his remarkable accomplishments.

Lacroix was one of the original members of the Flyers when the franchise entered the NHL during the 1967-68 expansion. A native of Lauzon, Quebec, and one of 14 children, the diminutive 5-foot-8 center had already made a name for himself with the Peterborough Petes, where he racked up 120 points in just 48 games during the 1965-66 season alongside future NHLers Danny Grant and Mickey Redmond. That kind of offensive firepower carried over into his early NHL career, where he led the Flyers in scoring during both the 1968-69 and 1969-70 campaigns, topping out at 58 points in 74 games.

A WHA Legend in Every Sense

After 245 games in orange and black, Lacroix was dealt to the Chicago Black Hawks, where he found himself in a supporting role on a powerhouse roster featuring Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita. He managed just 11 points in 51 games, and his NHL chapter appeared to be closing at the young age of 27. But as it turned out, his best hockey was still ahead of him.

Lacroix jumped to the fledgling World Hockey Association, a rebel league that promised players bigger paychecks and brought professional hockey to unconventional markets across North America. Returning to Philadelphia with the Blazers in 1972-73, he exploded for 50 goals and 124 points to lead the league in scoring. The experience wasn't always glamorous, though. The Blazers' first game was canceled due to bad ice at the Philadelphia Civic Center, and fans hurled souvenir pucks at players in frustration. Later, with the New York Golden Blades and New Jersey Knights, Lacroix endured buses that never showed up, hotels the team skipped out on, and flights in the back of the plane with no food service. As he once recalled, "It was brutal."

Despite the chaos surrounding many WHA franchises, Lacroix thrived on the ice. His finest statistical season came in 1974-75 with the San Diego Mariners, when he posted 41 goals and a staggering 106 assists for 147 points in 78 games. That 106-assist campaign made him only the second player in professional hockey history, after Bobby Orr, to reach triple digits in helpers in a single season. That record held until Wayne Gretzky surpassed it in 1980-81. Over seven WHA seasons and stops in New York, San Diego, Houston, and New England, Lacroix strung together six consecutive 100-point campaigns. He finished as the WHA's all-time leader in points (798), assists (547), and games played (551), a distinction that still stands.

Lacroix also represented his country on the international stage, suiting up for Team Canada in the 1974 Summit Series against the Soviet Union. He contributed seven points in eight games and scored the game-winning goal in Canada's lone victory of the series, a 4-1 triumph in Game 2 at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Life After the WHA and a Lasting Legacy

When the WHA folded and four of its surviving clubs were absorbed into the NHL in 1979, Lacroix got one more crack at the big league. He joined the Hartford Whalers for 29 games during the 1979-80 season, producing 17 points and skating alongside the legendary Gordie Howe, who was an astonishing 52 years old at the time, as well as Howe's Hall of Fame son Mark. It was a fitting final act for a player who had shared the ice with so many of the game's greats.

Lacroix retired in December 1979, finishing his professional career with 325 NHL games and 876 combined contests across both leagues. He came up just four points shy of 1,000 as a professional. After hanging up his skates, he remained deeply involved in the game, working as a radio broadcaster for the Whalers, starting a hockey academy, coaching youth hockey in Cleveland, and even operating a rink there that was partially powered by wind turbines.

The lack of Hockey Hall of Fame recognition was something that bothered Lacroix throughout his later years. He felt there was a bias against WHA accomplishments and self-published an autobiography in 2020 to help tell his own story. Whether or not the Hall ever comes around, those who followed the WHA know the truth: André Lacroix was the best player that league ever produced, and his contributions to hockey in Philadelphia and beyond deserve to be remembered for generations to come.