He played 103 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Ottawa Senators between 1985 and 1994.
[1][2] He played in 24 games, with a record of 10 wins, 13 losses and 1 tie (10–13–1), with a single shutout and a goals against average (GAA) of 4.62.
He signed a multi-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings in May 1983 and was assigned to the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate.
Laforest made his NHL debut on December 3, 1985 in a 4–1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, saving 35 of 36 shots, letting only Dave Poulin score against him.
[6] That same offseason Detroit acquired Glen Hanlon from the New York Rangers to tend the goal alongside Stefan[9] and Laforest returned to Adirondack for the 1986–87 season.
[10] For his play in the AHL, Laforest won the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award as the league's best goaltender.
He was recalled by Detroit and made his season debut in the NHL on January 24, 1987 in a 5–3 loss to the St. Louis Blues with Rob Ramage scoring two of the goals against him.
[11] Laforest earned his first NHL win of the season in his next game for Detroit on January 31, a 4–2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, with teammate Joe Kocur scoring twice in the third period.
[19] Upon joining the Maple Leafs, Laforest was assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Newmarket Saints, at the beginning of the 1989–90 season.
He was recalled by Toronto on October 21, 1989[20] and was used in a rotating three-goalie system alongside Allan Bester and Jeff Reese.
He earned his first win in a Maple Leafs jersey, with two goals by Vincent Damphousse and Mark Osborne each in an 8–4 victory.
[22] Laforest gained notoriety with the Maple Leafs fans after he took part in a line brawl between his team and the New Jersey Devils on October 23.
[3] For his play in 1990–91 season, Laforest won his second Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL's top goaltender and was named to the league's Second All-Star Team.
[30] Laforest signed in the Colonial Hockey League[30] with the Brantford Smoke and appeared in 10 games with a record of 5–3–1, with a GAA of 3.72 and a save percentage of .882.
[3] Laforest was recalled by Ottawa and made his NHL Senators debut on March 4, 1994 in relief of starter Craig Billington.
[3] His final game in the NHL took place on March 16, 1994, a 7–0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings in which Wayne Gretzky had a goal and four points.