Canadiens legend Guy Damien Lafleur (born September 20, 1951) is a former professional ice hockey player who played right-wing in the NHL from 1971 to 1991 with the Montreal Canadians, New York Rangers, and Quebec Nordiques. He is a five-time Stanley Cup winner in 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979, all with the Montreal Canadians. In 2017, he was named one of the ‘100 Greatest NHL Players in history.
Childhood
Lafleur became enamored with hockey after receiving a hockey stick for Christmas when he was five years old. As a youngster, he played at the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament from 1962 to 64, scoring a tournament record of 64 points. He would later play for the Quebec Junior Aces of the Quebec Junior Hockey League (QJHL) from 1966-69; in his final year with the Aces, he scored 50 goals and 110 points in only 49 games. As a teenager, in 1969, he joined the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where he won a Memorial Cup in 1971, scoring 130 goals and 209 points in just 62 games. The Memorial Cup is one of the hardest trophies to win as 60 teams join, with players aged 16-21.
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadians picked Guy Lafleur first overall in the 1971 NHL Entry Draft. Sam Pollock, who was Montreal’s general manager, was adamant about obtaining one of the two top picks in 1971, Guy Lafleur or Marcel Dionne; to have access to those players, Pollock convinced Charles Finley, owner of the California Golden Seals, to trade Francois Lacombe and their 1971 first-round pick to Montreal in exchange for Montreals 1970 first-round pick and defenseman Ernie Hicke.
In his first three years in Montreal, Lafleur struggled to meet expectations. As a result, his confidence suffered; by contrast, Marcel Dionne, the number two pick in Detroit, was an immediate success, leading his team in scoring. Although Lafleurs’ numbers weren’t terrible in his first three years, they do not compare to year four and beyond. From 1974-1980, Lafleur scored 50 goals or more in six consecutive seasons and never registered less than 119 points. His most productive campaign was in 1976-77 when he won the NHL scoring race defeating second-place finisher Marcel Dionne by 14 points, scoring 56 goals and 136 points, in 1977-78 he reached a career-high finding the back of the net 60 times.
After winning a fourth straight Stanley Cup in 1979, several key Canadians retired from hockey, Ken Dryden and Jacques Lemaire, resulting in the team’s slow decline. They would lose their bid for a fifth consecutive championship in 1979-80, losing to the Minnesota North Stars in seven games in round two. It was also the last time Lafleur scored 50 goals or more than 100 points. From 1980-85, Lafleur’s numbers and ice time began to dwindle, having nearly been killed in a car accident on March 24, 1981, when he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a fence, causing a metal post to severe part of his ear. When ex-teammate Jacques Lemaire took over head coaching duties, he incorporated a strict defensive style of play that Lafleur struggled to accept; this created a deep and growing divide between them. Eventually, Lafleur asked for a trade, but General Manager Serge Savard declined to trade him for fan backlash fear. With injuries, limited playing time, in-fighting with head coach Jacques Lemaire, and the emergence of superstars Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky, Lafleur became exasperated and retired from hockey.
Retirement
Lafleur’s retirement was mainly due to his abusive relationship with head coach Jacques Lemaire. Lafleur felt he was still a valuable asset and produced more than enough offense to offset any defensive shortcomings; many of his teammates agreed and thought he retired far too soon. Superstar defenseman and teammate Larry Robinson tried to convince him to stay. Still, Guy was at the end of his rope with what he felt to be Lemaire’s stifling defensive style and his diminished ice time that effectively crippled his electrifying talents. “I am empty. I have no more energy left for hockey. Even if I had a big offer, I can’t do it anymore.” He told his wife. Lafleur’s last game was against the Detroit Red Wings; the next day, on November 26, 1984, Serge Savard held a press conference at the Forum, making it official.
Lafleur admitted that he decided to quit hockey after the second period of the Detroit game after again requesting more ice time. Apparently, Lemaire promised to give him more ice time but didn’t deliver; Lafleur guesses that he played 6 minutes that game. Nineteen games into the 1984-85 season, Lafleur had two goals and five points.
NHL Comeback
In 1988, Lafleur returned to the NHL in a Rangers jersey. In an exhibition game against the Edmonton Oilers, he impressed Mark Messier so much that the Oilers Star convinced Rangers general manager Phil Esposito to sign Lafleur to a one-year contract. In his return to Montreal, Lafleur scored two goals in a 7-5 loss; every time he touched the puck, Hab fans would erupt in chants of “Guy, Guy, Guy,” Lafleur played his final two seasons in Quebec City for the Nordiques under his former Rangers coach, Michel Bergeron “Le Tigre.“
Nearing the end of his NHL career, Lafleur turned down an offer to join Wayne Gretzky and play for the Los Angeles Kings. In the 1991 Expansion Draft, he received an offer to play for the Minnesota North Stars, but he had decided to retire from professional hockey for the second and last time.
Cancer Diagnosis
On September 26, 2019, Lafleur underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery. On November 28, 2019, he had a second surgery to remove the upper lobe of a lung and lymph nodes due to his cancer diagnosis. In October 2020, he announced that his lung cancer had returned; Dr. Mustapha Tehfe, oncologist-hematologist at the hospital, said Lafleur would start immunotherapy and chemotherapy.
Lafleur has joined forces with the Centre Hospitalier de L’Universite de Montreal (CHUM) foundation as an ambassador to help raise money for cancer research in tandem with the Guy Lafleur Fund.
Many other NHL celebrities have pledged their support to aid Lafleur in his fight, including Wayne Gretzky, Patrick Roy, Mario Lemieux, and Yvon Cournoyer.
Lafleur announced recently that he is in good spirits due to his cancerous mass having shrunk by 30% since his treatments began.
Movie
In the fall of 2020, Christal Films announced they were developing a movie about Guy Lafleur’s life. Producer Christian Larouche has been getting the go-ahead from the Lafleur family. The script will be written by Luc Picard; a director has yet to be determined.
Death
In September 2019, Lafleur began having health issues and had open heart surgery with five bypasses. In November 2019, he had a cancerous lobe removed from his left lung. In October 2020, cancer was diagnosed in his right lung.
Lafleur died on April 22, 2022, at age 70, exactly one week after Mike Bossy, who also succumbed to lung cancer (both smoked heavily during their playing days); both were Quebec natives whose contemporary careers as star right-wingers were often compared.
He was given a national funeral on May 3, 2022, in Montreal, Quebec.
Achievements
- 5x Stanley Cup champion (1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979)
- 3x Art Ross Trophy winner (1976, 1977, 1978)
- 2x Hart Memorial Trophy winner (1977, 1978)
- 3x Lester B. Pearson Award winner (1976, 1977, 1978)
- 6x First-Team All-Star Right Winger (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981)
- 1x Conn Smythe Trophy winner (1977)
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1966–67 | Québec Junior Aces | QJHL | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1967–68 | Québec Junior Aces | QJHL | 43 | 30 | 19 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1968–69 | Québec Junior Aces | QJHL | 49 | 50 | 60 | 110 | 83 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1969–70 | Quebec Remparts | QJHL | 56 | 103 | 67 | 170 | 105 | 15 | 25 | 18 | 43 | 34 |
| 1969–70 | Quebec Remparts | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 18 | 18 | 36 | 23 |
| 1970–71 | Quebec Remparts | QMJHL | 62 | 130 | 79 | 209 | 135 | 14 | 22 | 21 | 43 | 24 |
| 1970–71 | Quebec Remparts | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 18 |
| 1971–72 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 73 | 29 | 35 | 64 | 48 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| 1972–73 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 69 | 28 | 27 | 55 | 51 | 17 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 9 |
| 1973–74 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 73 | 21 | 35 | 56 | 29 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 1974–75 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 70 | 53 | 66 | 119 | 37 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 15 |
| 1975–76 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 56 | 69 | 125 | 36 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 2 |
| 1976–77 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 56 | 80 | 136 | 20 | 14 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 6 |
| 1977–78 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 78 | 60 | 72 | 132 | 26 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 16 |
| 1978–79 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 52 | 77 | 129 | 28 | 16 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 0 |
| 1979–80 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 74 | 50 | 75 | 125 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 1980–81 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 51 | 27 | 43 | 70 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 1981–82 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 66 | 27 | 57 | 84 | 24 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 1982–83 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 68 | 27 | 49 | 76 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 1983–84 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 30 | 40 | 70 | 19 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| 1984–85 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 19 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1988–89 | New York Rangers | NHL | 67 | 18 | 27 | 45 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1989–90 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 39 | 12 | 22 | 34 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1990–91 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 59 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL totals | 1,126 | 560 | 793 | 1,353 | 399 | 128 | 58 | 76 | 134 | 67 |
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Canada | CC | 7 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 12 | |
| 1981 | Canada | WC | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 1981 | Canada | CC | 7 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 0 | |
| Senior totals | 21 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 14 |
Keep Your Stick on the Ice.
