Legal case of former NHL enforcer Georges Laraque pushed back to December

LONGUEUIL, Que. – The legal case of former NHL enforcer Georges Laraque has been put off until Dec. 18.

The former Montreal Canadien, who was not present for a court date today, is facing fraud charges that involve a former business partner.

Laraque, who has not yet entered a plea, will not be required to appear in court but will have to get his fingerprints taken by police.

The accusations prompted Laraque to temporarily step aside as deputy leader of the Green party in October.

He also withdrew as a candidate in next Monday’s federal byelection in Bourassa, a north-end Montreal riding.

The riding was left vacant when Liberal Denis Coderre stepped down to successfully run for mayor of Montreal.

Earlier this year, media reported that police near Montreal raided Laraque’s home in search of documents related to the Super-Glide synthetic ice venture.

Laraque has confirmed that the criminal charges are related to two transactions worth a total of $120,000. He has said that the accusations stem from a dispute with engineer Marc Filion, who co-founded the company with him in 2009.

Before his career as an activist and politician, Laraque played for four NHL teams between 1997 and 2010 and was best known for his fighting skills.

He was with the Habs for two seasons in 2008 and 2009.