Dan LaCouture

Daniel Scott LaCouture (born April 18, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). LaCouture is a graduate of South Hadley High School, in South Hadley, Massachusetts.

Dan LaCouture
Born	(1977-04-18) April 18, 1977 (age 48) Hyannis, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb)
Position	Left wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Edmonton Oilers Pittsburgh Penguins New York Rangers HC Davos Boston Bruins New Jersey Devils HC Lugano Carolina Hurricanes Barys Astana Lørenskog IK
National team	United States
NHL draft	29th overall, 1996 New York Islanders
Playing career	1997–2011

Playing career

As a youth, LaCouture played in the 1991 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Boston Bruins minor ice hockey team.^[1]

LaCouture was drafted 29th overall by the New York Islanders in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. The Islanders traded LaCouture to the Edmonton Oilers for Mariusz Czerkawski on August 25, 1997. Initially, he played primarily for the Hamilton Bulldogs, Edmonton's American Hockey League affiliate, but became more of a regular in the NHL while playing for the Oilers in the 2000–01 season. On October 17, 2000, Dan scored his first career NHL goal against Andrew Raycroft and the Boston Bruins in a 6-1 Oilers victory.^[2]

The Pittsburgh Penguins dealt for LaCouture on March 13, 2001, sending Sven Butenschon to the Oilers. Lacouture had his most productive season, scoring six goals along with eleven assists, and playing in all 82 games in 2001–02. He played for Pittsburgh until 2003. On February 10 of that year he was traded along with Alexei Kovalev, Janne Laukkanen, and Mike Wilson to the New York Rangers in exchange for Joel Bouchard, Richard Lintner, Mikael Samuelsson, Rico Fata, and cash.^[3]

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, the Providence Bruins signed LaCouture to a contract. He played for the NHL's Boston Bruins and Switzerland's HC Davos in 2005–06. An unrestricted free agent in the 2006 offseason, LaCouture signed with the New Jersey Devils, playing in six games with the NHL club and thirty-nine with the Lowell Devils of the AHL. He signed with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, but was suspended by the team after he failed to report to Anaheim's AHL affiliate in Portland, Maine. LaCouture returned to the Swiss League and played 15 games for HC Lugano in the 2007–08 season. After a tryout that made an impression on the Hurricanes organization, he signed a one-year, two-way contract with Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL. He was called to Albany River Rats, but left the club on December 27, 2008, and signed a contract with Barys Astana of the KHL.^[4][5]

He completed his final professional season with Norwegian club Lørenskog IK, of the GET-ligaen, in 2011.^{[citation needed]}

On April 10, 2014, LaCouture was revealed as one of nine former NHL players to file a major class action lawsuit against the NHL, alleging that the league has generated billions of dollars while subjecting its players to "the imminent risk of head trauma" leading to "devastating and long-term negative health consequences."^[6]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1992–93	Natick High School	HS-MA		20	38	34	72	46		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Natick High School	HS-MA		21	52	49	101	58		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Springfield Olympics	NEJHL		52	44	56	100	98		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Springfield Olympics	NEJHL		29	24	35	59	79		13	12	13	25	23
1996–97	Boston University	HE		31	13	12	25	18		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Hamilton Bulldogs	AHL		77	15	10	25	31		5	1	0	1	0
1998–99	Hamilton Bulldogs	AHL		72	17	14	31	73		9	2	1	3	2
1998–99	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		3	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Hamilton Bulldogs	AHL		70	23	17	40	85		6	2	1	3	0
1999–00	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		5	0	0	0	10		1	0	0	0	0
2000–01	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		37	2	4	6	29		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		11	0	0	0	14		5	0	0	0	2
2001–02	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		82	6	11	17	71		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		44	2	2	4	72		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	New York Rangers	NHL		24	1	4	5	0		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	New York Rangers	NHL		59	5	2	7	82		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Providence Bruins	AHL		64	12	15	27	52		6	1	1	2	4
2005–06	HC Davos	NLA		4	2	1	3	4		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Boston Bruins	NHL		55	2	2	4	53		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Lowell Devils	AHL		39	8	3	11	33		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	New Jersey Devils	NHL		6	0	0	0	7		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	HC Lugano	NLA		15	1	1	2	18		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		11	2	0	2	10		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Albany River Rats	AHL		12	1	5	6	7		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Barys Astana	KHL		12	2	1	3	51		3	0	0	0	0
2009–10	Providence Bruins	AHL		9	2	0	2	7		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Lørenskog IK	NOR		30	16	13	29	18		—	—	—	—	—
AHL totals				343	77	64	141	280		26	6	3	9	6
NHL totals				337	20	25	45	348		6	0	0	0	2

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1997	United States	WJC		6	1	0	1	4
2002	United States	WC		7	2	2	4	0
Junior totals				6	1	0	1	4
Senior totals				7	2	2	4	0