Guy Lafleur, RIP+

Ed. here. Poor Len Canayen has just sent us this report of a great loss to hockey.

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+.

Poor Len: 2016-17 Habs are the real deal -- real BIG deal!

Poor Len here, feeling the glow from the Montréal Canadiens' best start to the NHL season since... well... last year, but let's not get into that. This year's team -- and I emphasize the word "team" -- is so different from last year's as to not bear comparison. New players, new culture, and no distractions in the dressing room or on the ice. Adds up to 7 wins and 1 shootout loss in their first 8 games, good for first place in the NHL Eastern Conference and in the league overall!

Here's a great picture (scraped from the Gazette) from last night's 3-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. After a tight first period, the match was very entertaining, with good chances at both ends of the ice, fine goaltending from TB's Big Ben Bishop and even finer from Habs' Carey Price. I'm happy to see him fully recovered from last year's injury and already at the top of his came. Kudos too to Al Montoya, a veteran backstop who's taken some of the load of Price's shoulders. Each has allowed a stingy 6 goals in 4 games, with Montoya's GAA 1.47 and Price's 1.51. It's going to be hard for other teams to beat goaltending like that!

This year's edition of la Sainte Flannelle can score too -- all of them! The usual suspects -- Max Pacioretty, Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk -- are in form. Wee Brendan has had 28 shots in 8 games, 4 of which found the back of the net. With 3 assists that gives him 7 points. Some of last year's support players have come alive too. Torrey Mitchell has had 4 goals, with Paul Byron, David Desharnais and Phillip Danault potting 2 each. But the best news has come from new guys Alexander Radulov, Artturi Lehkonen and Andrew Shaw, all making solid contributions.

I've reserved the last paragraph for the defence. As the season got under way, many (but not I!) wondered if last June's blockbuster trade -- P.K. Subban to Nashville Predators for Shea Weber -- would prove to be GM Marc Bergevin's undoing or the Best Deal Ever Made. Much to the chagrin of Dr. C.K. and Dave Stubbs, Shea Weber has so excelled on both defence and offence that Habs fans have already forgotten Stubbsy's "transcendant defenceman". Weber is solid on defence, and the key man on the team's much-improved power play. He also leads the team in scoring, with 3 goals and 6 assists. With Andrei Markov, Alexei Emelin (who actually scored a goal) and Jeff Petry, the Canadiens now have a defensive corps that the goalies and forwards can count on.

All in all, 2016-17 looks like being a very good season. Better not to start planning the Stanley Cup parade down Rue Ste-Catherine just yet, but I've already got my bets down on the Habs not just making the playoffs, but winning the Atlantic Conference. Anyone who disagrees may send a cheque c/o Walt.

Click here to read complete statistics on the Canadiens website.

Worth reading: Guy Lafleur speaks out on why Habs traded Subban, from the Montreal Gazette 29/10/16. (My sentiments exactly!)

Guy Lafleur speaks his mind about P.K. Subban

Poor Len Canayen here. Walt has asked me to take a "work break" from my summer vacation to say something about the possibility that my beloved Montréal Canadiens might get rid of my less beloved P.K.Subban before his no-trade clause kicks in at the end of June. (See "Snoop Dog vs P.K. Subban... next year???" WWW 4/6/16.)

Not a word, not even a rumour has emanated from le Centre Bell following stories in Canada's Postmedia that the Edmonton Oilers were putting together a package with which to tempt Habs' GM Marc Bergevin. My own speculation is rooted less in inside knowledge than in wishful thinking.

But there's one positive to be taken from the Canadiens" dismal season. At least people -- even diehards like the cheerleaders at the Montreal Gazette -- are now willing to concede that something has to be done with the alleged defence star. Either trade him or find a way to make him put the team ahead of his own self. See "Parsing the Montréal Canadiens end-of-season press conference" WWW 14/4/16.

Some suggestions along the latter lines were made by one of the last of the legendary Flying Frenchmen, Guy Lafleur, who cast a few pearls on his way through le Centre Bell yesterday to the annual Prix d'excellence Guy-Lafleur. Richard Labbé, writing in La Presse, summed up M Lafleur's advice to his former team as follows:

Si le Canadien veut se remettre à gagner, il doit ajouter du punch offensif, et peut-être aussi demander à P.K. Subban de baisser un peu le ton.
My stylish translation: If the Canadiens want to regain their winning ways, they have to add some offensive punch, and maybe also ask P.K. Subban to tone it down a bit.

What follows is my version of the words attributed by M Labbé to M Lafleur. I hope neither of them will mind. If you want to read the version originale, click here.

These things take time. I'm certain that the Canadiens organization realizes that it's necessary to make changes to arrive at the quality of play we're seeing at the moment [in the Stanley Cup finals]. It's necessary to be patient, and not make changes just for the fun of it. We've heard the recent rumours. Is P.K. going to be traded? He's a very talented player, but no-one knows the answer.

A flamboyant guy like that, in our time, I think he would have been taken a hit with a stick behind his head! He would have been put back in his place quick enough!

Every player has his way of getting himself up for a game. P.K.'s the same. But me, I don't know. It seems that in his place I'd have found another way without annoying the others....

I was with Yvan Cournoyer in the corridor of the Bell Centre before a match, just before the warmup. P.K. was there, talking really loudly, hyperactive. I thought he needed some Ritalin! And Yvan looked at me and said, "Lucky he didn't play in our time. He wouldn't have hard the nerve." But he's like that.

He likes the glamour and playing to the crowd. He's made like that. But for me, it's not that which is important. What's important is to get into top shape before the September training camp.

Will P.K. Subban still be in Montréal when the Canadiens' training camp opens in the fall? Will he learn to control himself and remember that he's only one guy out of two dozen? Will he stop being himself? Tune in tomorrow when we hear Marc Bergevin say [We're out of space. Ed.]