Hockey Is a Perfect Outlet for Iafrate

More than 30 minutes after the NHL’s hottest team had been ambushed by the Hartford Whalers, Al Iafrate sat alone in the visitors locker room.

A cigarette dangled from his lips.

Still in his uniform pants, he stared into space -- transfixed on something or someone visible only to him.

Chief Crazy Horse, a new, 4-inch tattoo on the top of his left arm, joined the Washington Capitals defenseman in deep contemplation.

Was he meditating about the game? Visualizing himself on his beloved Harley-Davidson Springer softtail? Tuning into Judas Priest and Ted Nugent? Or dreaming about being a Sioux warrior?

He didn’t say.

Iafrate is Motorcycle Maharishi, Heavy Metal Sect. And until the Whalers shut him out Wednesday in a 6-3 rout to end the Caps’ seven-game victory streak, he also was riding shotgun on one of the most impressive streaks of the NHL season.

Iafrate had 22 points in 10 games. In four of those games he was picked No. 1 star. In three others, he was either No. 2 or No. 3 star.

After a weak start and without a goal until Nov. 18, he has been nothing short of dominating. Teammate Alan May says Iafrate, fifth among NHL defensmen with nine goals and 33 points, has come in from the ozone.

Few doubted Iafrate’s spectacular skills. He won the 1990 NHL All-Star skills competition in both the hardest shot and fastest skater categories. At 6 foot 3, 220 pounds, he once dubbed himself “The Human Highlight Film.”

Caps Coach Terry Murray said he has never seen Iafrate, 26, play any better. Murray said he’s simply reacting, letting his talent dictate. When he’s focused? “He can lift you out of your seat,” Murray said.

Iafrate announced Nov. 30: “I’ve caught every forward there ever was to catch and shoot as hard as anybody.”

After the Whalers took a 5-0 lead in the second period, the Hartford Civic Center sound system blared “Born To Be Wild,” the old Steppenwolf motorcycle anthem. The Whalers are lucky Iafrate, suddenly revved, didn’t score a hat trick all on the same shift.

“Al’s a great guy. He’s one of a kind,” said former Whaler Sylvain Cote, who has 11 goals and a plus-23 rating, mostly while paired with Iafrate. “Hilarious, but not in a mean way.

“He likes to be a philosopher. But sometimes he gets lost in a thought and then starts laughing. He’s in a rage about the American Indian these days. We were in Vancouver and there was this big Indian (headdress) with feathers. It must have cost $1,000. Al was all ready to buy it.”

Philosopher? Iafrate liked Cote’s description. Usually, he is described as wild, a maniac, enigmatic and occasionally an egomaniac. One of his nicknames is Wild Thing. He plans to have Loose Cannon inscribed on his rebuilt motorcycle. If he continued to play football -- as he did until he quit in high school in Michigan -- certainly Al Davis and the Los Angeles Raiders would have been attracted to his personality.

“Everybody has deep inhibitions. I just carry them out and say what I feel, whether it’s considered normal or not,” said Iafrate, who will make $800,000 this season. “Nothing I do is immoral. None of it’s a mortal sin. I’m a Roman Catholic. I was raised by two pure Italian parents. I have morals bred in me. I’m a God-fearing man, for sure.

“I just had trouble separating fun from work. Had my priorities confused.”

Confusion has followed Iafrate, who played for the 1984 U.S. Olympic team since being drafted by Toronto that year.

-- There was a wicked car crash in 1984.

-- There were charges for hurling stones at a light standard.

-- There was the disappearance from the Maple Leafs in 1985 after showing up at training camp 20 pounds overweight.

-- There was the night in 1987 in Bloomington, Minn., when Iafrate and four teammates were ejected from a hotel for a wild party.

-- There was the breakup of his marriage and the media accounts when teammate Gary Leeman dated his estranged wife.

-- There was a paternity suit, filed by a St. Louis woman in 1990. Iafrate took responsibility for his daughter.

-- There was his alleged role in a domestic dispute between a Toronto couple that went to court in 1991.

-- And he missed a game in the 1991 playoffs with what the Caps called “emotional exhaustion.”

“I’ve settled down a lot,” Iafrate said. “I used to be a maniac. But I never thought I was better than anybody. Most of my friends are into Harleys, run Harley shops. They’re honest, hard-working, blue-collar guys. I guess that’s my environment.”

Capitals General Manager David Poile took a risk Jan. 16, 1991 when he traded defenseman Bob Rouse and center Peter Zezel to the Leafs for Iafrate. Coupled with his personal trauma, Iafrate was coming off major surgery after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. It was an injury that Iafrate admits “freaked me.” He went from a guy who did backflips at bars to not being able to tie his sneakers.

But his knee healed. And those who know him say his spirit has healed, too. He is calmer, happier.

“My dad used to tell me I live my life like it’s a hockey game. The clock was always running. Fast. Fast. Fast,” Iafrate said.