Georges Laraque. Remember him?
Most don’t.
But the ex-Penguin cementhead threw Twitter kisses in the direction of fellow goon Ryan Reaves after Reaves tipped in the winning goal in Vegas’ Game 5 victory over Winnipeg, which put Vegas in the Stanley Cup Final.
What a crock.
Make no mistake: Laraque was nothing but a goon.
Laraque thought he was more. He wasn’t. Even when he shared a dressing room with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for a year-plus ending in 2008, Laraque played the star. He wasn’t.
Laraque had a paltry 53 goals in 695 NHL games, and his name isn’t on the Stanley Cup. Penguins GM Jim Rutherford’s name is. The exact score is Rutherford three, Laraque nil.
I saw Rutherford play goal, and he was much better at that than Laraque was at wing. Laraque wouldn’t be a top-line player in most beer leagues.
Yet Laraque is poking fun at Rutherford.
But that’s what goons do. They support other goons to make goons seem like they’re still relevant. But goons have never been less so.
I don’t think Reaves would have enabled the Penguins to beat Washington.
But maybe Reaves will get his name on the Stanley Cup. That would be one more time than Laraque.
Laraque was a great fighter, but picked his spots. He wouldn’t menace or intimidate the foe’s consequential players. He would drop the gloves with the other team’s heavyweight by way of performing his little sideshow.
Laraque didn’t impact games. He was a crap teammate. His ego was gigantic.
When Laraque left, his Penguins teammates were glad to see him go. He tried to be buddy-buddy with the stars. But they didn’t buy in.