Mike LaFontaine

Lore & Background

The 1980s Islanders were a machine, but Mike LaFontaine was the spark plug. Coming into the league as a raw, blazing-fast teenager, he was dropped into a line with two of the most complete forwards ever to lace up skates—Bryan Trottier and Clark Gillies. What the coaching staff had was a three-man unit that could score from anywhere, at any speed, in any scoring chance. LaFontaine's job was to be the engine: the first guy to the puck, the one who turned a defensive-zone clear into a breakaway before the opposing defensemen even realized the play had started.

The Coliseum crowd in the early '80s didn't just watch hockey; they participated in a weekly ritual of near-religious adoration. And LaFontaine was the hymn they sang loudest. His backhand around the boards, his quick-twitch dekes in the neutral zone, his ability to separate from a defender with a single burst of speed—these were the moments that made the roof rattle. He wasn't the biggest guy on the ice, wasn't the hardest hitter, but he was the most *fun*, and in a franchise that prided itself on winning with style, that mattered more than any stat line.

By the mid-to-late 1980s, the dynasty was winding down, the roster was turning over, and the four-peat was becoming a memory rather than a present. LaFontaine's time with New York eventually ended, and he moved on to other chapters of his career. But for the fans who were there, for the kids who grew up watching the blue-and-orange jerseys dominate the standings, LaFontaine will always be the guy who made the impossible look effortless, who made a Stanley Cup run look like a formality, and who proved that speed and skill could be just as terrifying as grit and muscle.

In Their Own Story

The Coliseum was packed, the kind of packed where the noise isn't a sound anymore but a pressure in your chest. Second period, Islanders up by one, and LaFontaine wins the draw in his own zone. He doesn't look up. He just *goes*—stickhandling through the neutral zone with the puck dancing on the end of his blade like it's attached to his hand. A defender reaches for him. LaFontaine's shoulders drop, his inside skate cuts, and suddenly there's a gap, and then there's no gap, and then there's a defender on the ice and LaFontaine is already past the blue line, already looking for Trottier, already *thinking* two plays ahead. The Coliseum erupts before the play is even over, because they know—every single one of them knows—what's coming next. The pass. The one-timer. The net bulging. And then the roar, the real roar, the kind that makes the glass vibrate and the beer in your cup ripple. That was LaFontaine. That was the early '80s. That was the Islanders.

Reader's Guide

Mike LaFontaine was the center of the Islanders' legendary early-1980s forward line, the explosive speed and playmaking engine that powered the Trottier–Gillies–LaFontaine trio. Drafted 5th overall in 1981, he arrived as a teenager and immediately became a cornerstone of the dynasty that won four consecutive Stanley Cups.

His signature contribution was pure, relentless speed combined with elite puck-handling. While Trottier ran the offense with his passing and Gillies delivered the finishing touch, LaFontaine was the transition weapon—the guy who turned a zone exit into a breakaway, who made defenders look a full second slow. His backhand play and quick-twitch dekes were a nightly spectacle at the Coliseum.

One story that lives on in Islanders fan conversation: a late-period breakaway where LaFontaine, skating at full tilt, simply *stopped* dead in front of the net, let the puck roll, and then fired a wrist shot so quick the goalie never even moved. The Coliseum lost its mind. Another: the way he'd celebrate a goal by skating the full length of the ice, stick raised, letting the crowd have their moment before the next faceoff. Pure showmanship, pure joy.

His legacy is woven into the fabric of the 1980s dynasty. When Islanders fans talk about the four-peat, about the Coliseum roar, about the line that could score from anywhere, LaFontaine's name is always in the sentence. He's the speed, the sparkle, the reason the early '80s Islanders didn't just win—they *dazzled*.

Did You Know?

• LaFontaine was part of the Trottier–Gillies–LaFontaine line, widely regarded as one of the most dangerous forward combinations in 1980s NHL history.
• He was drafted 5th overall in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, arriving at the Islanders as a teenager and immediately becoming a key contributor to the dynasty.
• His playing style—explosive speed, elite puck-handling, and a flair for showmanship—made him a fan favorite at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum throughout the early 1980s.
• He was a member of the Islanders roster during the franchise's four-consecutive-Stanley-Cup era (1980–1983), cementing his place in the club's most celebrated chapter.