A very touching article by Jim Kelley about the charitable works of Pat LaFontaine. I can tell you it got a little dusty in my living room as I read it. Tear-jerker money quote:
LaFontaine always carried a silent pager. When it went off, LaFontaine would read it, make a graceful exit from whatever he was doing and quietly make his way to Buffalo's Children's Hospital. There, he would enter through a private security gate for which he had a special pass. He would climb the steps to the floors where the terminally ill children were preparing to die and sit down next to one of them.
He was there to grant a wish -- that he would be there during the final hours of a child's life.
As many times as he could, LaFontaine honored that request. Sometimes the call would come at one or two in the morning, when we were just getting off a plane from a road trip. The rest of us -- players, management, and media -- would head home, anxious to be with our loved ones or to sleep in our own beds. LaFontaine headed for the Children's Hospital to say a prayer, hold a hand, tell a friend about his game and ease the fear of a child whose life would soon be over far before its time.
Read the whole thing to realize what a special person this guy is. And to the past management of the Buffalo Sabres, who made LaFontaine an outcast in Buffalo, shame on you. May the Rigases rot in prison for the way the ostracized this man. And Larry Quinn, you have a chance to make amends for your past treatment of LaFontaine as well. You drove him out of Buffalo...you should send a police escort to drive him back here and honor him by retiring his number as he enters the Hall of Fame.
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