Posted on 04/22/2022 6:20:50 AM PDT by PallMal
Montreal Canadiens icon Guy Lafleur, who captured five Stanley Cup titles and was a hockey hero in Quebec long before his NHL playing days, has died. He was 70.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbc.ca ...
First Mike Bossy a week ago at 65, now Guy Lafleur at 70.
RIP
He beat my flyers so many times. Great player, good man.
RIP
70 is still quite young. I wonder if it was lung cancer, or something related to smoking? Even during his prime, he would smoke 2 packs of ciggies a day.
Didn’t like his playing style as a junior, a real cheap shot artist, but he was an amazing skater.
RIP, Guy!
From the article:
“The cause of death was not immediately known. However, Lafleur suffered through health issues in the latter stages of his life. In September 2019, he underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery, which was followed by lung surgery two months later.
Then, in October of 2020, he endured a recurrence of lung cancer.”
I was an L.A. Kings fan in the 70s. Guy Lafleur and goalie Ken Dryden were my team’s nemeses, as the Canadiens were unstoppable in taking our Norris Division, and usually the championship in those days.
R.I.P. Guy Lafleur, long live Rogie Vachon!
It tends to catch up to you unfortunately. My father is battling lung cancer and he stopped smoking 20 years ago. However, he spent most of his adult life smoking two or more packs a day.
I'm surprised Lafleur was that young. I had him pegged to be older than that. I watched him play the Bruins when I was a boy. The Bruins and Canadians were arch-rivals.
I saw him play at Madison Square Garden when he was with the Rangers. He was 38 years old and the fastest guy on the ice.
I am a Bruins fan, but I always admired the Canadiens of those days. It’s a shame that the franchise has declined so much.
Wasn’t Lefleur the last to play without a helmet????
That was Craig MacTavish for the St. Louis Blues in 1997. Lafleur was the last Hall of Famer to play without a helmet. He actually wore a helmet for his first three seasons in the NHL (1971-72 through 1973-74). The story has it as Guy forgetting the helmet during a training camp scrimmage prior to the 1974-75 season and he felt that much more aware and confident as to where and what he was doing out on the ice, thus he put it away for the remainder of his days as an NHL player (until his first retirement in 1984 and then his 1988 to 1991 comeback).
Leader of the Montreal team that won 4 cups in a row in the 70’s. A prolific scorer, great skater, and iconic player. R.I.P
I actually should correct my comment in that Rod Langway technically is the last helmetless Hall of Famer as he retired in 1992-93 with the Washington Capitals whereas Guy retired at the end of the 1990-91 season with the Quebec Nordiques.
Clark Gillies, as well (January, 2022).
OK...Thanks...
With a health history like that, why not just say what killed him instead of leaving it up to conjecture.
Now I’m wondering if a vaxx contributed to his death.
Back then, the Canadien’s announcer was as great as their teams..Danny Gallivan...”heres Lafleur..with a CANNONADING drive”...lol, he was the best.
Rod Langway and Doug Wilson are in the Hall. Both played sans helmet after Lafleur.
Lafleur was fast and so smooth.
Side note: I was invited into an NHL locker room after a game in the mid ‘70s (friend of a former sportswriter). I was surprised there were a number of players smoking cigarettes and drinking beer.
I had forgotten that they inducted Doug into the Hall as well, good catch. When I played as a teenager (back in the late 1980s), I had a few teammates that lit up in the dressing room as well.
Lafleur was one of the last player to play without a helmet... however, the very last player was Craig MacTavish who was originally drafted by Boston.
The Canadiens in the 70s were an unbelievable team and I don’t think it even arguable as to which was the greatest hockey team ever... it was the 1976–77 Canadiens. They of course won the Stanley Cup but during the regular season, they set all kinds of records... most points by a team, amount by which they outscored the other teams etc. I think Lafleur won ever trophy that were even available for him to win.
Years ago I had the privilege of meeting Frank Mahovlich at a book signing. It wasn’t that busy and I ended up talking to him for about half an hour... he of course course spent most of his years in Detroit playing with Gordie Howe and some great Red Wings teams but at the end of his career, he went to Montreal where as they serious underdogs in the 1970-71 season, they beat Boston in one of the playoffs before the finals... a Boston team that had the 4 top goal scorers in the entire league on them. Then they went on to win all their other playoffs. However, as good as that team was, the years that followed were even better. Anyway, I asked Frank about the 70s teams and he was adamant that there simple was no team ever that were close to being as good as them.... and he had moved on by 76-77. It was interesting to hear that since other than that statement, he was very soft spoken and not given to hyperbole.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.