Dan LaCouture (born April 18, 1977 in Hyannis, Massachusetts) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger currently playing for Barys Astana of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). LaCouture is a graduate of Natick High School in Natick, Massachusetts.

LaCouture is American and he was a graduate of South Hadley High School in South Hadley, Massachusetts.

[edit] Career

He was drafted 29th overall by the New York Islanders in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. The Islanders traded Lacouture to the Edmonton Oilers for Mariusz Czerkawski on August 25, 1997. Initially, he played primarily for the Hamilton Bulldogs, Edmonton's American Hockey League affiliate, but became more of a regular in the NHL while playing for the Oilers in the 2000–01 season.

The Pittsburgh Penguins dealt for Lacouture on March 13, 2001 sending Sven Butenschon to the Oilers. Lacouture had his most productive season, scoring six goals along with eleven assists in 2001–02, while playing for Pittsburgh until 2003. On February 10 of that year, he, along with Alexei Kovalev, Janne Laukkanen, and Mike Wilson were sent to the New York Rangers in exchange for Joel Bouchard, Richard Lintner, Mikael Samuelsson, Rico Fata, and cash.

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, the Providence Bruins signed Lacouture to a contract. He played for the NHL's Boston Bruins and Switzerland's HC Davos in 2005–06. An unrestricted free agent in the 2006 offseason, Lacouture signed with the New Jersey Devils, playing in six games with the NHL club and thirty-nine with the Lowell Devils of the AHL. He signed with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, but was suspended by the team after he failed to report to Anaheim's AHL affiliate in Portland, Maine. Lacouture returned to the Swiss League and played 15 games for HC Lugano in the 2007–08 season. After a tryout that made an impression on the Hurricanes organization, he signed a one-year, two-way contract with Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL. He was called to Albany River Rats, but left the club on January 7, 2009 and signed a contract with Barys Astana of the KHL.

On September 12, 2009, LaCouture reported for training camp at the New York Rangers training facility in Tarrytown, New York.

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] External links

• Dan LaCouture's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database