Eric Lacroix (born July 15, 1971) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player. He played eight seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

and

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

. He is the son of former Colorado Avalanche president Pierre Lacroix, and has worked in various management positions within the Avalanche. He is currently an analyst for the ''DNVR Avalanche'' podcast.

Playing career

Lacroix was selected in the 7th round, 136th overall in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the

. He then played two years of collegiate hockey with

St. Lawrence University St. Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college in the village of Canton in St. Lawrence County, New York. It has roughly 2,100 undergraduate and 100 graduate students. Though St. Lawrence today is nonsectarian, it was founded in 1 ...

of the ECAC. He made his professional debut with Maple Leafs

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

affiliate, the

St. John's Maple Leafs The St. John's Maple Leafs were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, at Memorial Stadium from 1991 to 2001, and at Mile One Stadium from 2001 to 2005. The team was ...

before appearing in his first NHL game with the Leafs in the 1993–94 season. Lacroix enjoyed his most successful stint in the NHL with the

, posting a career high 18 goals, 18 assists and 36 points in the 1996–97 season, as the Avalanche fell just short of defending their

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

title. On February 13, 1999, Lacroix was traded from the

to the Rangers for

Sean Pronger Sean James Pronger (born November 30, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who grew up in Dryden, Ontario, and played in the National Hockey League from 1995 to 2004. He played for the following teams: Anaheim Ducks, Pittsbu ...

. On March 1, 2001, he was traded from the Rangers to the Senators for Colin Forbes before ending his professional career at 472 NHL games after the conclusion of the 2000–01 season.

Management

Post-retirement, Lacroix remained involved in hockey and returned to the Avalanche organization, assuming the roles of assistant video coach and director of hockey operations for four seasons. He became the co-owner and governor of the

Arizona Sundogs The Arizona Sundogs were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in Prescott Valley, Arizona. They played in the Central Hockey League from 2006 to 2014 with their home games at Tim's Toyota Center. History The team name, Sundogs, ...

of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

. After three years with the Sundogs, helping claim the

Ray Miron President's Cup The Ray Miron President's Cup is a trophy that was awarded to the playoff champion of the Central Hockey League (CHL) from 2002 until 2014, when the remaining CHL teams joined the ECHL. The trophy was known as The William "Bill" Levins Memorial Cup ...

as champions of the CHL, Lacroix joined the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

organization for the 2008–09 season as a professional scout. On June 3, 2009, Lacroix re-joined his father in Colorado, when he was named Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Avalanche. He served in his role for four consecutive seasons, before leaving after the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season.

Broadcasting

It was announced on September 18, 2017, that Lacroix had signed on to be a studio analyst for the

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Golden Knights compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division ...

AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain was an American regional sports network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its TNT Sports unit as part of the AT&T SportsNet brand of networks. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, the network broadcast regional co ...

Personal life

Lacroix is married to Jill and they have three children, Max, Mia, and Ty. They live in Castle Pines, Colorado. Max Lacroix, who is a goalie and will play for the Colorado Grit in the

NAHL Nahl or NAHL may refer to: * Nahl (surname) * National Accident Helpline, a British personal injury lawyer service * North American Hockey League, an American junior hockey league * North American Hockey League (1973–1977), an American profession ...

during the 2023–24 season, is committed to

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

for the 2024–25 season.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lacroix, Eric 1971 births Living people Arizona Coyotes scouts Canadian ice hockey left wingers Colorado Avalanche coaches Colorado Avalanche executives Colorado Avalanche players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Ice hockey people from Montreal Los Angeles Kings players New York Rangers players Ottawa Senators players Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL) players St. John's Maple Leafs players St. Lawrence Saints men's ice hockey players Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Toronto Maple Leafs players Vegas Golden Knights announcers Canadian ice hockey coaches The Governor's Academy alumni