Georges Laraque was an awesome fighter in the NHL and is one of the most feared players to ever play in the league. Laraque could take on anyone, and it was almost impossible even to get one hit on him. And many people tried during Laraques many years in the NHL.
Laraque played in nearly 700 games, scoring 153 points but spent most of his time in the penalty box. So if you fought with Laraque one time, you probably didn’t want to do it again. Just ask Jason Strudwick.
On the Got Yer Back podcast, the NHL vet recalled that he fought Laraque in the AHL one time but never thought about doing it again. And the worst part is he was tricked into taking the fight by being convinced that Laraque had a glass jaw.
”He was in the minors and he’d been beating everybody up, so my team convinced me that I could take him, by saying he had a glass jaw. I never found out if he had a glass jaw, I didn’t get one punch in. He might still have a glass jaw for all I know,” he says.
”I had so many bruises in the back of my head, I had to get a bigger helmet for the next period. We played against eachother after that, 40-50 times, and I never once thought about going after him. We played hard, but I never even once thought that I was going to fight him. There are some heroes out there, but I didn’t want another chance.”
”I got my chance, I got beat up, and he was so much stronger. Was I tougher? No, I don’t believe so. I don’t believe I was a better fighter. I wasn’t stronger. So it was all about me being beating up. ”
