BUFFALO, N.Y. -- When Pat LaFontaine first learned the Buffalo Sabres made plans to retire his number, his mind raced back to his childhood. Growing up outside of Detroit in the 1970s, LaFontaine looked up to Montreal's Guy Lafleur and Buffalo's Gilbert Perreault.
Before Friday's game against Toronto, LaFontaine's No. 16 jersey will join Perreault's No. 11 in the rafters of HSBC Arena.
"To have my jersey raised up next to one of those guys is pretty special," LaFontaine said. "As a kid, you always look up and see numbers and you see names. And you never think at the time, even when I was playing, that something like that would ever happen."
LaFontaine showed similar flashes of speed, grace and production in his 15-year Hall-of-Fame career. Playing junior hockey in Quebec, LaFontaine broke Lafleur's record of a point in 40 consecutive games.
LaFontaine's career numbers -- 468 goals and 545 assists for 1,013 points in 865 games -- came during seasons with the New York Islanders, Sabres and a final year with the Rangers. A series of concussions forced him to retire in 1998.