​Andre Lacroix, a prolific scorer who helped lead the Whalers into the NHL and later became a popular, call-it-as-he-saw-it voice on the team’s radio broadcasts, has died at 81.A fixture at Whalers reunion events, Lacroix was in Hartford for the Yard Goats’ annual event last summer, signing autographs for fans entering Dunkin Park. The Quebec-born Lacroix was involved in hockey nearly his entire life, most recently owning and operating a rink in Ohio.Lacroix was an original member of the Philadelphia Flyers when the NHL expanded from six to 12 teams in 1967, was their leading scorer in 1968-69. After playing for the Black Hawks, Lacroix signed with Philadelphia’s team in the new World Hockey Association, and there made his name. He scored more points, 798, than any other player in the seven-year history of the league and is in its Hall of Fame in Minnesota.As teams folded and moved, Lacroix played in several cities, eventually landing with the New England Whalers for the WHA’s last season, recording 88 points. Then in 1979, when the WHA folded and the Whalers were accepted into the NHL, Lacroix played on the 1979-80 team that included Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull and Dave Keon. Lacroix retired as a player during the season.He transitioned to front office roles, including community relations with the Whalers, and during the 1980s joined Chuck Kaiton on the team’s radio broadcasts in WTIC-AM. Lacroix was known for candid commentary on the state of the Whalers, which was known to rub higher-ups the wrong way. When he was dismissed from that role in 1990, many fans were outraged.