Georges Laraque, who just finished pounding the pavement for 90 kilometres as part of a relay run from Montreal to Times Square in New York, wants to put his skates back on after it ended badly with the Canadiens — his aching back rendering him impotent as a player and a protector.
Laraque played for new Habs coach Michel Therrien in junior for the Granby Bisons when they won a Memorial Cup and for the Pittsburgh Penguins, so maybe the 35-year-old winger could get another shot there. The previous regime of general manager Bob Gainey, his assistant Pierre Gauthier and coach Jacques Martin is gone, with Marc Bergevin the new general manager. But if it’s not Montreal, then Laraque will take anything. He’s not ready to retire.
“I told my agent (Steve Kotlowitz) I’d sign anywhere. I’ll take a physical. I’ll sign a one-year minimum (salary). I’d come in like a rookie,” said Laraque, who last played during the 2009-10 season, getting into 61 games over two years with the Habs until they bought him out of the final year of his three-year contract. He’s played 645 NHL games, in all with the Edmonton Oilers, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh and Montreal.
“At my age I wouldn’t expect to play every game and if I went from nine minutes a game to four or five, that’s fine. I could be a veteran role player. I can’t see how a team could turn me down with those terms if they want toughness. I want to end on my own terms and I have something to prove. I’m going to be so motivated to play again,” he said.
“I’m down to 255 and I’ll probably get down to 245 (pounds). I’ve got a personal trainer every morning. My strength’s still there and my back is 100-per-cent healthy now … I had two herniated discs, but after doing acupuncture and yoga the hernatiation vanished. I mean, if I can do this run, going up hills with all the pounding and it doesn’t bother my back or my knees, then I’m fine. Ninety kilometres is like two marathons. If you’re 255 pounds and your back’s not good, you can’t run that far,” said Laraque, who would run 10 km as one of eight groups, then rest for six hours in an RV and go again through the streets.
Laraque’s No. 1 choice for a return would be Edmonton, of course. The Oilers wanted to sign him in 2009, but he opted to go to Montreal to be closer to his mother, who lives there.
“My kids are in Edmonton. I’ve got a house there, but I don’t want to put any pressure on anybody. They had Darcy Hordichuk and Ben Eager last year. I don’t know their contract situations,” said Laraque. Hordichuk is a free-agent July 1; Eager has two years left on a three-year deal.
“They know through (Oilers fitness consultant) Simon Bennett, that I want to come back (to hockey). I think a young team like the Oilers needs somebody to look after them (kids), but again if they’re comfortable with what they have, they might not need any more toughness,” he said.
