Pat LaFontaine finally gets the call to be inducted into NY Islanders Hall of Fame

Pat LaFontaine finally will join an elite group of New York Islanders legends, receiving the call on Thursday that he would become the 17th member of the team’s Hall of Fame.

“I’m very fortunate and honored,” LaFontaine said via NewYorkIslanders.com. “When Mathieu Darche called me, I could not have been more excited. It’s very meaningful and very humbling. A lot of the guys I was fortunate enough to play with are already in the Islanders Hall of Fame—it’s just a tremendous honor.”

LaFontaine will be formally inducted on December 13 at UBS Arena when the Islanders face the Tampa Bay Lightning. The evening will include an on-ice ceremony with family, former teammates, and past inductees, while fans in attendance will receive a commemorative LaFontaine Hall of Fame coin. LaFontaine’s name and plaque will join the Ring of Honor inside UBS Arena, cementing his place alongside icons like Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, Denis Potvin, and more recent inductees including Brent Sutter, Ken Morrow, and Ed Westfall.

During his Islanders career, LaFontaine became one of the most electrifying offensive players in franchise history. In 530 games with the team, he scored 287 goals and 279 assists for 566 points—an average of 1.07 points per game, one of only five Isles to exceed the point-per-game mark. He tallied four consecutive 40-goal seasons from 1987–91 and remains tied for seventh in team history in goals.

Fans will forever remember his heroics in the 1987 Easter Epic, when his fourth-overtime goal eliminated the Capitals in Game Seven of the Patrick Division Semifinals. The moment still resonates across the NHL as one of the sport’s most dramatic playoff finishes.

Now, with his Islanders Hall of Fame induction, LaFontaine’s connection to Long Island deepens. “I live here, my wife is from here, and it’s where I started my career,” he said. “It’s a tremendous honor, and it means so much for my family.”

Epic on the ice and gracious off it, LaFontaine’s Hall of Fame night promises to be another unforgettable chapter in Islanders history.