Sabres management, in conjunction with team doctors and specialists, refused to clear LaFontaine to return, and recommended he retire. LaFontaine, still believing he could play, was traded to the New York Rangers in a cost-cutting measure for a second round draft choice in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and future considerations on September 29, 1997. During his one season with the Rangers, he tied for the team lead in goals scored, and recorded his 1,000th career NHL point. In a game against the Ottawa Senators on March 16, 1998, LaFontaine accidentally collided with teammate Mike Keane and suffered another concussion. LaFontaine missed the remainder of the season and all of the next season, announcing his retirement formally on October 12, 1999. Announced in 2001, the Pat LaFontaine Trophy was awarded to the winner of the Islanders–Rangers regular season series, with money paid by the losing team to the charity of LaFontaine's choice. It is unclear whether the trophy is still awarded or acknowledged by either team. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 3, 2003. "I am truly thrilled to receive this tremendous honor," said LaFontaine upon receiving the news. "Growing up in St. Louis, I always played for the love of the game and never dreamed this could ever lead to my being a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame." He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in that same year. On March 3, 2006, the Buffalo Sabres retired LaFontaine's number 16. He was also inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 2004. LaFontaine was voted the 3rd greatest Buffalo Sabre in the team's 40-year history. Post-hockey In 1997, LaFontaine founded the Companions in Courage Foundation, an organization that builds interactive game rooms in children's hospitals throughout North America. In 2000, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society bestowed the Patriot Award on LaFontaine in recognition of his contribution to military morale throughout his career. In 2002, LaFontaine was given an honorary Goal! Award, sponsored by the Points of Light Foundation, for having overcome depression and lived in the community through volunteer work. In 1998 he was honored with the Public Leadership in Neurology Award for his work in Public Awareness of Concussion In Sports. In April 2003, LaFontaine was recognized with the International Humanitarian Award by the Gift of Life Foundation, an organization promoting the cure and treatment