Andre Lacroix, Original Flyer and WHA Scoring Leader, Dies at 81

Andre Lacroix, an original member of the Philadelphia Flyers and the leading scorer in World Hockey Association history, has died at the age of 81. The Flyers announced his death on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. NHL.com reported the death on Tuesday night, and Pro Hockey Rumors reported earlier in the evening that the team had shared the news.

"The Philadelphia Flyers mourn the loss of original team member, Andre Lacroix," the team said in a statement posted on X. "The Flyers organization extends its condolences to Andre's family, friends, former teammates and all those who knew and loved him." No cause of death was announced.

An original Flyer

Lacroix was born on June 5, 1945, in Lauzon, Quebec. As a junior with the Peterborough Petes, he led his team with 120 points in just 48 games in the 1965-66 season. He began his NHL career with the Flyers in the 1967-68 season and played 245 games for Philadelphia over four seasons. The center led the Flyers in points twice, with 56 points on 24 goals and 32 assists in 75 games in 1968-69, and 58 points on 22 goals and 36 assists in 74 games in 1969-70.

Philadelphia traded Lacroix to the Chicago Black Hawks for the 1971-72 season. After one season in Chicago, he left the NHL at the age of 27 for the new World Hockey Association, and his best years were still ahead of him.

The WHA scoring king

Lacroix joined the Philadelphia Blazers in the WHA and led the league in his first season there with 124 points, on 50 goals and 74 assists. Over seven WHA seasons he also played for the New York Golden Blades and Jersey Knights, the San Diego Mariners, the Houston Aeros and the New England Whalers.

In 1974-75, his first season with San Diego, Lacroix won his second WHA scoring title with 147 points, on 41 goals and 106 assists in 78 games. The 106 assists set the professional record at the time. He was then the only player other than Bobby Orr, who had 102 assists for the Boston Bruins in 1970-71, to reach 100 assists in a single professional season, and the record stood until Wayne Gretzky recorded 109 assists for the Edmonton Oilers in 1980-81.

Lacroix retired as the WHA all time leader in points, with 798, including 251 goals, in assists, with 547, and in games played, with 551. No WHA player scored more.

Canada, Hartford and retirement

Lacroix played for Team Canada in the 1974 Summit Series against the Soviet Union and recorded seven points, on one goal and six assists, in eight games. He scored the winning goal in Canada's only victory of the series, a 4 to 1 win in Game 2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

After the WHA and NHL merger in 1979, Lacroix returned to the NHL for a final season with the Hartford Whalers in 1979-80. He finished with 198 points, on 79 goals and 119 assists, in 325 NHL regular season games, and seven points in 16 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Across both leagues he finished four points short of 1,000 as a professional. After he retired in December 1979, he stayed involved in youth hockey for decades and worked as a radio broadcaster on Whalers games.