Patrick Michael LaFontaine (born February 22, 1965) is an American former ice hockey center in the National Hockey League (NHL) who spent his entire career playing for the league\'s New York State-based teams.\n', '

LaFontaine played for the New York Islanders from 1983 until 1991, the Buffalo Sabres from 1991 until 1997, and the New York Rangers from 1997 until his retirement in 1998, scoring 468 goals and 1,013 points along the way before his career was ended by concussions. His 1.17 points per game (1,013 points over 865 games) is the best among American-born ice hockey players, active or retired. In 2017 Lafontaine was named one of the \'100 Greatest NHL Players\' in history. LaFontaine served as an executive of the Buffalo Sabres as the President of Hockey Operations until March 2014.\n', '

Although he was born in St. Louis, LaFontaine grew up in Waterford, Michigan. His father moved the family to the Detroit area in 1972.[citation needed] As a youth, LaFontaine played in the 1977 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Waterford. He graduated from Waterford Kettering High School. LaFontaine began his junior career with the Verdun Juniors of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) during the 1982–83 season). In his only season in the QMJHL, LaFontaine contributed 104 goals and 130 assists for Verdun. LaFontaine\'s 234 points was tops in the league and he was awarded the Jean Béliveau Trophy as the top scorer, out-dueling future NHL icon Mario Lemieux. His rookie season broke many records, including Guy Lafleur\'s 40-game point-scoring streak and Mike Bossy\'s 70 goals by a rookie.[citation needed]\n', '

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