Daniel Lacroix

Daniel Lacroix (born March 11, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. He played in the National Hockey League with five teams between 1993 and 2000. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1989 to 2002, was spent in various minor leagues. After retiring as a player, he became a coach, working for many teams.

In December 2019, he was named the head coach of the Moncton Wildcats in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He was an assistant coach for the Montreal Canadiens until April 27, 2018, to become head coach of the Lithuanian national team. Lacroix was drafted by the New York Rangers in the second round, 33rd overall, of the 1989 NHL entry draft. A seven-year NHL veteran left wing, Lacroix played for the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, and the New York Islanders.

Career Born in Montreal, Quebec, Lacroix appeared in a total of 188 NHL games for the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers and the New York Islanders recording 11 goals and seven assists for 18 points and 379 penalty minutes. Aside from the playing in the NHL, Lacroix also spent eight seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL), three seasons in the International Hockey League (IHL) and four seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In 2000, he won the Turner Cup championship with the Chicago Wolves.

Coaching career From 2002 to 2006, Lacroix was an assistant coach of the Moncton Wildcats. During his stint with the team, the Wildcats reached the QMJHL finals twice, including a Memorial Cup appearance in 2006. Halfway through the 2004–05 season, Lacroix took over as Moncton's interim head coach for the second half of the season. From 2006 to 2009, he served as assistant coach for the New York Islanders. On August 5, 2009, Lacroix was named an assistant coach for the Hamilton Bulldogs for the 2009–10 AHL season. When Guy Boucher was hired as coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Lacroix followed Boucher to Tampa Bay. From the 2013–14 season, he was an assistant coach of the New York Rangers.

Lacroix was hired by the Montreal Canadiens on July 30, 2014, as an assistant coach and served in the role until 2018.

On October 18, 2018, Lithuanian Ice Hockey Federation appointed Lacroix as head coach of men's national team on one-year contract.

On January 21, 2019, Kölner Haie from the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) announced Lacroix to be their head coach for the rest of the season after the firing of Peter Draisaitl.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1985–86 Outaouais Frontaliers QAAA 37 10 13 23 46 — — — — — 1986–87 Granby Bisons QMJHL 54 9 16 25 311 8 1 2 3 22 1987–88 Granby Bisons QMJHL 58 24 50 74 466 5 0 4 4 12 1988–89 Granby Bisons QMJHL 70 45 49 94 320 4 1 1 2 57 1988–89 Denver Rangers IHL 2 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 1 0 1989–90 Flint Spirits IHL 61 12 16 28 128 4 2 0 2 24 1990–91 Binghamton Rangers AHL 54 7 12 19 237 5 1 0 1 24 1991–92 Binghamton Rangers AHL 52 12 20 32 149 11 2 4 6 28 1992–93 Binghamton Rangers AHL 73 21 22 43 255 — — — — — 1993–94 New York Rangers NHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1993–94 Binghamton Rangers AHL 59 20 23 43 278 — — — — — 1994–95 Providence Bruins AHL 40 15 11 26 266 — — — — — 1994–95 Boston Bruins NHL 23 1 0 1 38 — — — — — 1994–95 New York Rangers NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1995–96 New York Rangers NHL 25 2 2 4 30 — — — — — 1995–96 Binghamton Rangers AHL 26 12 15 27 155 — — — — — 1996–97 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 74 7 1 8 163 12 0 1 1 22 1997–98 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 56 1 4 5 135 4 0 0 0 4 1998–99 Edmonton Oilers NHL 4 0 0 0 13 — — — — — 1998–99 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 46 13 9 22 260 11 3 1 4 65 1999–00 New York Islanders NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1999–00 Chicago Wolves IHL 61 3 10 13 194 7 0 0 0 28 2000–01 Newcastle Jesters BISL 42 8 11 19 140 — — — — — 2001–02 Blitz de Granby QSPHL 10 4 4 8 72 — — — — — 2001–02 Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies ECHL 31 5 13 18 166 10 5 4 9 89 2001–02 Rochester Americans AHL 2 1 0 1 18 — — — — — AHL totals 352 101 112 213 1618 27 6 5 11 117 NHL totals 188 11 7 18 379 16 0 1 1 26