Montreal Canadiens icon Guy Lafleur, who captured five Stanley Cup titles with the Montréal Canadiens, and was a hockey hero in Québec long before his NHL playing days, has passed away, at the age of 70. RIP.
The cause of death was not announced, but Lafleur was a heavy smoker and had only recently appeared in a promotional video supporting the fight against cancer. In September of 2019, he underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery, followed by lung surgery two months later. Then, in October of 2020, he endured a recurrence of lung cancer.
For decades, Lafleur, aka "the Flower", scored seemingly with ease at all levels of hockey and grew into the role of one of the game's flashiest superstars. He often mesmerized fans with his signature long blond hair flowing behind him as he rushed up the ice before unleashing one of his patented booming slapshots.
Lafleur's arrival in Montreal, like his departure years later, was controversial. General manager Sam Pollock made a deal with the California Golden Seals to move up in the NHL draft to select Lafleur, passing on another highly touted French Canadian, Marcel Dionne.
Dionne outscored Lafleur in their rookie seasons, leading some fans to think Pollock had made a mistake in selecting Lafleur. But the critics backed off by 1973 as Lafleur hoisted his first Stanley Cup with the franchise.
All doubt was erased in the 1974-75 season when Lafleur broke out with his first of six consecutive seasons with at least 50 goals and 100 points.
He dominated the latter half of the decade, leading the Habs to four consecutive Stanley Cup titles from 1976 to 1979, and won the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player twice during that period. He also captured the 1977 Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. Here's the goal that I will always remember, scored in Game 7 of the 1979 Stanley Cup semi-final series against the Boston Bruins, as described by the legendary Danny Gallivan.
Guy Lafleur's scoring prowess was so dominating in the late '70s that Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster Dick Irvin Jr. called him the greatest player in the world.
Lafleur's relationship with Habs' management started to sour in the 1980s. He was asked to rein in his free-wheeling style of play in favour of a more defensive style by Hall of Fame linemate and then coach Jacques Lemaire. After the team refused to meet his demand for a trade, he shocked the hockey world when, at only 33 years old, he abruptly announced his retirement weeks into the 1984 season.
For the next three years, Lafleur played publicly only in charity hockey events. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988.
That same year, New York Rangers general manager Phil Esposito convinced him to come out of retirement and return to the NHL. Lafleur played a season in New York, highlighted by a two-goal performance at the fabled Montreal Forum, resulting in a rare standing ovation for an opposing player. He then played two more years with his hometown Quebec Nordiques before calling it a career for a second and final time following the 1991 season.
At the time, Lafleur was only the second player in league history, after Gordie Howe, to return to the NHL as a player after being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
In his post-playing career, Lafleur became an ambassador for the Montreal Canadiens and established the Guy Lafleur Award of Excellence, a prize given annually to the top student-athlete hockey player in the province of Quebec.
Today his statue stands outside Montreal's Bell Centre arena alongside Canadiens all-time greats Howie Morenz, Maurice Richard and Béliveau. His No. 10 hangs in the rafters of the arena after being retired on 16 February 1985.
Guy Lafleur, RIP+.
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