Georges Laraque Georges Laraque ( ; born December 7 , 1976 ) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward , who last played with the Montreal Canadiens before his contract was bought out in 2010 . He is also a host for CFRN and deputy leader of the Green Party of Canada . During his NHL career he played for the Edmonton Oilers , Phoenix Coyotes , Pittsburgh Penguins , and Montreal Canadiens . Georges Laraque was born in the city of Montreal , Quebec . Hockey career . Laraque entered the QMJHL , where he played for a variety of teams . In 173 games at the junior level , Laraque stockpiled 107 points and 661 penalty minutes . Laraque was a member of the 1996 Granby Prédateurs team which won the Memorial Cup . After finishing junior , Laraque spent parts of three seasons with the AHL ' s Hamilton Bulldogs . Despite concerns about his skating , Laraque showed enough at the AHL - level for Edmonton to bring him to the NHL . Although he was something of a power forward in junior , Laraque is considered primarily as an enforcer at the NHL level . His 6 ' 3 " frame and his habit of fighting made him one of the most feared forwards in the league . He was unanimously awarded the ' Best Fighter ' award from " The Hockey News " in 2003 . He was named the number one enforcer by " Sports Illustrated " in 2008 . Despite his reputation as a fighting - only player , Laraque has had offensive bursts during his career and on February 21 , 2000 , Laraque scored a hat trick against the Los Angeles Kings and was also named the game ' s first star . During the NHL lockout , he played in Sweden , signing on with AIK . In the 2006 off - season , Laraque was up for free agency and wanted to stay in Edmonton and play . He even said he was willing to take a salary cut if the Oilers accepted on giving him a long - term , no - trade clause deal . The Oilers did not agree with Laraque ' s demand for a no - trade clause thus the contract was never signed . On July 5 , 2006 , Laraque signed with the Phoenix Coyotes . He scored his first goal as a Coyote against Edmonton on October 26 , 2006 . Laraque was then traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for the 2007 - 08 season . On July 3 , 2008 , Laraque signed a contract as a free agent with the Montreal Canadiens . He elected to wear number 17 with the Canadien Hockey Club rather than his usual 27 , which was Alex Kovalev ' s number at the time . One of the main reasons why Montreal sought Laraque was to add toughness ; in the previous year ' s playoffs , they had been outplayed physically by the Philadelphia Flyers , and in the first round , they had difficulty countering Boston Bruin Milan Lucic . On November 21 , 2009 Laraque was suspended 5 games after hitting Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall with a knee to knee hit . On January 21 , 2010 , nine days after the devastating earthquake in Haiti , the Montreal Canadiens released Laraque and announced they were planning to buy out the remainder of his contract . His contract was officially bought out on June 15 , 2010 . Because Laraque had been suffering from two herniated discs in his back during the last season and a half that he had been playing , he subsequently announced his retirement from professional hockey . Laraque took advantage of being released by the Canadiens to offer his help to Haiti , his country of ancestry , and began raising money to rebuild the Grace Children ' s Hospital in Port - au - Prince , Haiti , in association with World Vision and the NHLPA . . While playing with the Oilers , Laraque was famous for his " Laraque Leap " , in which he would smash his body against the glass at the Rexall Place after the Oilers scored a goal . Personal life . Laraque ' s parents were both born in Haiti . He is known as " Big Georges " or simply " BGL " . Laraque became a vegan to protest animal abuse by the meat industry . In the off - season , Laraque resides in Edmonton , which he considers his home away from home . On Fridays during the off - season , Laraque can often be heard hosting Team 1260 in Edmonton . Laraque also commits a lot of his time to local charity work to help the local people of Edmonton , Pittsburgh and in response to the 2010 earthquake , the people of Haiti . In February , 2010 , Laraque was announced as a " goodwill ambassador " for TekSavvy Solutions , an internet and landline phone provider based in Chatham , Ontario . In 2011 , Laraque took part in the CBC ' s Canada Reads literary competition as the celebrity defender for author Angie Abdou ' s " The Bone Cage " . Laraque struggled as a young Black athlete in a predominately white sport . He faced numerous challenges growing up , and was always forced to deal with the racism around him . The racism got so bad and hate - filled when finally George ’ s dad pulled him out of hockey for a year when he was 12 . Laraque loved hockey and decided to play again despite the fact that he was treated poorly by his opponents , who swore and spit at him on the ice . Laraque was widely known for fighting in the NHL , which he learned out of necessity as he grew up always having to defend himself . Laraque dedicated the fact that he made the NHL to all the people that verbally abused him growing up . On May 21 , 2010 , Georges Laraque squared off with mixed martial artist Georges St . - Pierre for 3 rounds of grappling for takedowns on TSN TV show Off The Record . Laraque did not score a single takedown . Laraque became vegan since he joined the Green Party of Canada .