Laraque, former NHL player, tests positive for COVID-19

Georges Laraque, a forward who played 695 NHL games, said Thursday he has tested positive for COVID-19.

"Thanks everyone for your prayers and wishes, this is where I'm gonna live for awhile until my lungs clear!" the 43-year-old wrote Friday on Twitter with a picture of him in a medical facility.

Laraque played eight of his 12 NHL seasons for the Edmonton Oilers. He scored 153 points (53 goals, 100 assists) and had 1,126 penalty minutes with the Oilers, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens.

Laraque, who had 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in 57 Stanley Cup Playoff games, retired from the NHL following the 2009-10 season.

"I guess I'm not invincible, just got diagnosed with COVID," Laraque tweeted Thursday. "Since I'm asthmatic, not the best news, will fight it off!"

The Montreal native recently assisted Give Protection in Laval, Quebec, an effort to get more personal protective equipment to front-line medical staff.