Pat LaFontaine will always be a hockey guy. It's the sport he played as a kid, the career he made as an adult, the game he watches today.

But LaFontaine will always refuse to let hockey define his life. He knows there are greater

highs than perfectly placed slap shots, understands there are worse tragedies than three-game

winless streaks.

He also knows it is important to share that wisdom. The Hockey Hall of Famer and Buffalo

Sabres legend visited Western New York over the weekend. As usual, he brought smiles, kind

words and perspective.

"Hockey is a dream come true," LaFontaine said. "You pinch yourself that you get to play at

this level. It's a privilege.

"But there's so many things you learn along the way, people you meet and experiences, and I

truly believe that everything you do in life prepares you for what you're supposed to do next.

You have to get to that point where you take those experiences and be proactive and say, "OK,

I've learned this. I've gone through these situations. Now what can I do to use that and make

a difference in someone else's life?' "

The Companions in Courage Foundation is LaFontaine's avenue to life-altering experiences. It

is creating a "Lion's Den" for two more hospitals, bringing the total to 10. Roswell Park

Cancer Institute and Women & Children's Hospital opened the first two rooms, filled with

computers and games that offer children an opportunity to play and interact with others. As

the foundation's Web site says, it gives them an oasis from the poking and prodding often

associated with hospital stays, providing a brief respite to allow a kid to be a kid.

The rooms are an example of LaFontaine's extraordinary ability to make people feel better.

He merely defines it as passing on what he has learned.

"The greatest reward is when I see a child smile," he said, "or when I hear a mother say,

"My child was pushing his pain medicine every eight minutes. Now he's been in this room

laughing and smiling and hasn't touched it for an hour.' She's crying, and I say to myself,

"Those are problems in life. Whatever we have are good problems. It's minuscule.' "

LaFontaine's most famous problem, the one that ended his stay in Buffalo and eventually

ended his career, was concussions caused by hits to the head. When he's not helping children,

he is trying to ensure that other players do not experience the same thing.

"I'm helping out with the American Academy of Neurology and working with the league on

concussions, and I'm finding out thank God I got out when I did," he said.

Head injuries cut short his career, but they ultimately didn't slow his life. But others,

he said, are plagued by permanent stuttering problems and spots on the brain.

"They have to get rid of head shots," said LaFontaine, who recalled how the NHL was able to

regulate hits to the knee. "Guys were going low, and they were taking guys' knees out, so we

made a rule. Guess what? It doesn't happen anymore.

"My philosophy is, we're willing to make a rule to protect a knee, but not a head? There

are more head injuries and more guys lost because of head injuries and concussions in our game

than there were knee injuries, yet we made a rule. It doesn't make sense.

"We have a responsibility to create the environment where you still have competition, you

still have a great game, but everybody can still leave their game with their wits about them

and go on to live a healthy life."

LaFontaine was pleased to hear that Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller recently spoke out in

similar fashion. LaFontaine enjoys watching the Buffalo goalie, and not only because Miller

plays for his former team. He sees a like-minded person, one whose Steadfast Foundation helps

children dealing with severe illness.

"He's done an amazing job, and I hope he continues to play like that because he's been such

a huge spark," LaFontaine said. "And what he does off the ice I have great respect for. He

just gets it.

"I think that's part of the progression. You can't sit still on anything. You have to keep

moving forward on what's important. At the end of the day, you acquire, you achieve, you

learn, you experience ... but for what? I think it's to give back and make a difference."