SAD NEWS: Canadiens Centre Back Confirmed Dead After..

Guy Lafleur, a legend with the Montreal Canadiens who won five Stanley Cups and was a hero in Quebec hockey long before he played in the NHL, has passed away. He was 70.

The reason for death was not quickly known. Nevertheless, Lafleur experienced health issues in his later years. In September 2019, he went through fourfold detour heart medical procedure, which was trailed by lung medical procedure two months after the fact.

Then, at that point, in October of 2020, he got through a repeat of cellular breakdown in the lungs.

“We are profoundly disheartened to learn of the passing of Fellow Lafleur. All individuals from the Canadiens association are crushed by his passing,” Canadiens President Geoff Molson said in a proclamation.

“Fellow Lafleur had a remarkable vocation and consistently stayed basic, available, and near the Habs and hockey fans in Quebec, Canada and all over the planet. He made it possible for us to share significant moments of collective pride throughout his career. He became an outstanding spokesperson for our sport while simultaneously being one of our organization’s best players.

Quebec is in chats with the group of Lafleur to hold a public memorial service for the Montreal Canadiens legend, head François Legault declared at a news gathering Friday.

Lafleur, who went by the moniker “The Flower,” rose to prominence as one of hockey’s flashiest superstars over the course of decades while scoring with apparent ease at all levels. As he raced up the ice before unleashing one of his trademark booming slapshots, he frequently captivated fans with his signature long, blond hair that flowed behind him.
At an international peewee hockey tournament in Quebec City, Lafleur showed by the time he was 10 years old that he was a generational talent by skating around kids three years his senior.

Lafleur played junior hockey for the Quebec Jr. Pros and Quebec Remparts. He amassed a stunning 465 focuses in two seasons and two end of the season games with the Remparts, driving the group to the Dedication Cup title in 1971.

Lafleur set a regular-season record for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with 130 goals in that year. Mario Lemieux, another French hockey superstar, surpassed him with 133 goals in the 1983-84 season.

Being drafted by Canadiens was fitting

Guy Damien Lafleur was born on Sept. 20, 1951, in Thurso, Que., a small city in the western part of the province, and grew up idolizing Canadiens great Jean Béliveau.

So it was fitting he made his debut for the Montreal Canadiens in the 1971-72 season, taking the torch from his hero only months after Béliveau wrapped his career by skating off the ice as a Stanley Cup champion for the 10th time in the spring of 1971.

Lafleur’s appearance in Montreal, similar to his takeoff years after the fact, was disputable. Sam Pollock, the general manager, made a deal with the California Golden Seals to move up in the NHL draft to select Lafleur instead of Marcel Dionne, another highly regarded French Canadian.

Dionne outscored Lafleur in their freshman seasons, driving a few fans to think Pollock had committed an error in choosing Lafleur. Be that as it may, the pundits eased off by 1973 as Lafleur raised his most memorable Stanley Cup with the establishment.

When Lafleur produced his first of six consecutive seasons with at least 50 goals and 100 points during the 1974–75 season, all doubt vanished.
Heroes of Hockey Night: Fellow Lafleur scored north of 600 times in the NHL. Dick Irvin and Bounce Cole think about his most renowned objective.

He overwhelmed the last 50% of the 10 years, driving the Habs to four continuous Stanley Cup titles from 1976 to 1979, and won the Hart Prize as the association’s most significant player two times during that period. Additionally, as the MVP of the playoffs, he won the 1977 Conn Smythe Trophy.

His scoring ability was so overwhelming in the last part of the ’70s that unbelievable Hockey Night in Canada telecaster Dick Irvin Jr. called him the best player on the planet.

Lafleur rose above the game notwithstanding his known propensity for smoking cigarettes. Previous mentor Scotty Bowman said he would try and smoke between periods.

“He’d smoke in the [hotel] room, however consistently in the washroom,” said previous Quebec Nordiques colleague Joe Sakic. ” I let him know he didn’t need to do that. I mean, I was awestruck by him.

Close call

On March 24, 1981, Lafleur barely escaped a fatal crash after smashing his Cadillac into a highway fence while driving home. A signpost smashed through the windshield, missing his head by inches. Minor plastic surgery was needed to repair his right ear lobe.

Lafleur’s relationship with Canadiens 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 generally only played publicly in charity hockey events, and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988.

NHL return

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.

Lafleur was only the second player in NHL history to play again after being inducted into the Hall of Fame at the time, following Gordie Howe.

Lafleur established the Guy Lafleur Award of Excellence, a prize given annually to the best student-athlete hockey player in the province of Quebec, following his playing career. He also became an ambassador for the Montreal Canadiens.

In the last part of the 2000s, Lafleur was in the titles for non-hockey reasons.

In 2007 at a bail hearing for his son Mark, Lafleur testified, and in 2008, he was the subject of an arrest warrant for allegedly giving contradictory testimony. He was found blameworthy in 2009 preceding the conviction was upset on request a year after the fact.

Today his sculpture remains outside Montreal’s Chime Place field close by Canadiens all-time greats Howie Morenz, Maurice Richard and Béliveau. His No. 10 balances in the rafters of the field subsequent to being resigned on Feb. 16, 1985. At the time it was the 6th number resigned by the Canadiens establishment.

Lafleur is still the Canadiens’ record holder for points (1,246), assists (728) and game-winning goals (94).

He was named No. 11 on the list of the NHL’s 100 all-time greatest players by the Hockey News in 1998. Lafleur was also named one of the 100 greatest players by the NHL as part of its centennial celebration in 2017.

Lafleur is survived by his two sons, Mark and Martin, and his wife, Lise.