Joseph Claude Roger LaForge (July 1, 1936 – May 4, 2015) was a Canadian ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, and Philadelphia Flyers between 1958 and 1968. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1957 to 1973, was mainly spent in the American Hockey League.[1]

Claude LaForge
Born (1936-07-01)July 1, 1936
Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, Canada
Died May 4, 2015(2015-05-04) (aged 78)
Longueuil, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 160 lb (73 kg; 11 st 6 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Montreal Canadiens
Detroit Red Wings
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 1957–1973

Playing career

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Before playing in the NHL, LaForge played 2 games with the Montreal Royals and one season with the Shawinigan Falls Cataractes of the Quebec Hockey League (QHL) and one season with the Cincinnati Mohawks of the International Hockey League (IHL). In 1958, LaForge was named to the QHL Second All-Star Team.

He started his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens during the 1957–58 season. He would play a total of 5 games with the Canadiens. On June 3, 1958, the Canadiens traded LaForge along with Gene Achtymichuk and Bud MacPherson to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for money.

LeForge spent time between the Red Wings and their American Hockey League-affiliates, the Hershey Bears and Pittsburgh Hornets. After spending parts of 5 years with Detroit, he was sent down to the Hornets and was then traded to the Quebec Aces of AHL in exchange for Terry Gray on March 1, 1966.

When the Philadelphia Flyers bough the Aces on May 8, 1967, LaForge's NHL rights were transferred to the team. He played 65 regular season games with the Flyers. In August 1970, the Flyers traded LaForge to the Denver Spurs of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in exchange for money. After spending 3 seasons with the Spurs, LaForge retired from playing professional ice hockey.

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1954–55 Montreal Junior Canadiens QJHL 45 18 4 22 43 5 1 0 1 0
1955–56 Montreal Junior Canadiens QJHL
1955–56 Montreal Royals QSHL 2 0 0 0 2
1955–56 Montreal Junior Canadiens M-Cup 10 1 4 5 11
1956–57 Shawinigan Falls Cataractes QSHL 60 12 13 25 10
1956–57 Cincinnati Mohawks IHL 8 5 5 10 2
1957–58 Montreal Canadiens NHL 5 0 0 0 0
1957–58 Shawinigan Falls Catarates QSHL 52 26 27 53 45
1957–58 Rochester Americans AHL 14 7 6 13 10
1958–59 Detroit Red Wings NHL 57 2 5 7 18
1958–59 Hershey Bears AHL 10 4 5 9 16
1959–60 Hershey Bears AHL 68 27 31 58 38
1960–61 Detroit Red Wings NHL 10 1 0 1 2
1960–61 Hershey Bears AHL 49 20 30 50 55 8 2 1 3 35
1961–62 Detroit Red Wings NHL 38 10 9 19 20
1961–62 Hershey Bears AHL 31 13 13 26 59
1962–63 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 50 10 23 33 73
1963–64 Detroit Red Wings NHL 17 2 3 5 4
1963–64 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 51 19 23 42 59 5 1 3 4 4
1964–65 Detroit Red Wings NHL 1 0 0 0 2
1964–65 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 67 23 32 55 26 4 4 2 6 2
1965–66 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 55 11 20 31 38
1965–66 Quebec Aces AHL 9 2 6 8 0
1966–67 Quebec Aces AHL 60 16 25 41 46 5 4 2 6 0
1967–68 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 63 9 16 25 36 5 1 2 3 15
1967–68 Quebec Aces AHL 8 5 4 9 2
1968–69 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 2 0 0 0 0
1968–69 Quebec Aces AHL 57 21 31 52 24 11 0 7 7 2
1969–70 Quebec Aces AHL 72 28 39 67 44 6 0 2 2 6
1970–71 Denver Spurs WHL 64 25 28 53 34 5 2 3 5 4
1971–72 Denver Spurs WHL 56 15 31 46 12 9 1 5 6 6
1972–73 Denver Spurs WHL 25 8 11 19 12
AHL totals 601 206 288 494 490 39 11 17 28 49
NHL totals 193 24 33 57 82 5 1 2 3 15

References

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  1. ^ "Claude Laforge".
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