Lafontaine Gets Back To Old Self

One of the nicest gifts hockey fans are getting this Christmas is the return of Buffalo Sabres center Pat LaFontaine to his former self.

Perhaps his story isn’t as headline-grabbing as that of Pittsburgh Penguin Mario Lemieux, who has come back from cancer and back problems to lead the NHL in scoring, but for anyone who has met LaFontaine or watched him play, it is as compelling.

LaFontaine is one of the NHL’s truly nice guys.

The last time he was playing this well was in 1992-93, when he produced 148 points and challenged Lemieux for the NHL scoring title. Then came a major knee injury, surgery and 16 months of rehab.

He started coming back last season, playing in 22 of the 48 games in a lockout-shortened season. In 28 games this season, he leads his team in scoring with 13 goals, 22 assists. His 62 points in those 50 games works out to the same 1.2 points a game he has scored throughout his 12-year career.

“It’s only recently, in the last little while, that I’ve felt my timing and strength and my confidence return,” LaFontaine says. “The knee is fine, but it’s just now that all the confidence came back to try all the things I did before.”

The Sabres started 5-9-1, but as LaFontaine has gotten better, so has Buffalo. In its past 18 it is 10-6-2.

“The biggest thing has been the chemistry, goaltending and the guys wanting to work for one another,” said LaFontaine.

The Sabres have been outscored 100-97, but they’re a game above .500, which only proves LaFontaine may be as good an analyst as he is a player. As for whether he can get back to being one of the NHL’s hottest properties:

“All I can do is work very hard,” he said. “Who knows if I can get back to that level - or a better level? Who knows what’s out there? Right now, I’m just enjoying the success the team is having. We’re surprising a lot of people.”

Rich fan’s game

The NHL features some of the highest ticket prices in pro sports, so should anyone be surprised that attendance isn’t growing?

According to league figures, attendance at 288 games this season has been 4.5 million - basically the same as it was in 1993-94, which was the last time the NHL played an uninterrupted schedule.

Edmonton, Hartford, Ottawa, Florida and Washington are below their Rich man’s sport

Christmas appears to be year-round in the NHL as salaries continue to climb. Six years ago only Gretzky and Lemieux made more than $1 million a season. Now, there are 147 NHL millionaires.

The top 10: Gretzky ($6,545,363); Winnipeg’s Keith Tkachuk and the New York Rangers’ Mark Messier ($6 million); Lemieux ($4,571,429); Vancouver’s Pavel Bure ($4.5 million); LaFontaine ($4.3 million); Philadelphia’s Eric Lindros ($4,182,000); Detroit’s Sergei Fedorov ($4,162,333); St. Louis’ Brett Hull ($3.75 million); and Colorado’s Patrick Roy ($2.94 million).