Guy Lafleur, the legendary Montreal Canadiens player who won five Stanley Cups and set the team point record, has passed away. He was 70 years old.
Guy Lafleur was the first overall pick in the 1971 NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens, and he helped the team win five Stanley Cups in the 1970s, including the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP in 1977, after leading the postseason with 26 points in 14 games.
Lafleur won three Art Ross Trophies, three Lester B. Pearson Awards (formerly known as the Ted Lindsay Award), two Hart Trophies, and six All-Star selections during his career, in addition to the Stanley Cups and the Conn Smythe.
Guy Lafleur Death News
The death of the Hall of Famer was declared by the Canadiens. Since 2019, Guy Lafleur had been battling lung cancer. The sad news comes only a week after another Hall of Famer, Mike Bossy, passed away. Bossy was a four-time Stanley Cup winner with the New York Islanders during the same era as Lafleur.
“The Flower” was known for his flowing locks and played 961 games for the Habs, scoring a franchise-high 1,246 points.
At an international peewee hockey tournament in Quebec City when he was ten years old, there were already indications that Lafleur was a generational talent, skating circles around boys three years his senior.
Lafleur was a member of the Quebec Jr. Aces and Quebec Remparts in junior hockey. In two seasons and two playoffs with the Remparts, he scored 465 points and led the team to the Memorial Cup triumph in 1971.
Lafleur established a regular-season record of 130 goals in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League that year, which was later surpassed by another French hockey phenom, Mario Lemieux (133), in the 1983-84 season.
How Did Guy Lafleur Die? Cancer Linked To His Cause Of Death
The reason for death was unknown at the time. Guy Lafleur, on the other hand, struggled with health concerns in his later years.
The Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) reported in October 2020 that Lafleur’s lung cancer had reappeared at a follow-up meeting with doctors.
Lafleur had successfully had quadruple-bypass heart surgery at the CHUM in September 2019 and was back two months later for surgery to remove the top lobe of one of his lungs as well as lymph nodes.
The athlete was born on September 20, 1951, in Thurso, Que., a small town in the province’s western region, and grew up idolizing Montreal Canadiens legend Jean Béliveau.
Guy Lafleur Death Obituary- Fans Paid Tribute To Him
Former players, teammates, and media members went to social media to express their condolences on the news of Guy Lafleur’s death.
Serge Savard, the Hall of Fame defenseman, writes in his book, Serge Savard Forever Canadien, that Lafleur epitomized a bold, confident Quebec.
Lafleur narrowly avoided death after slamming his Cadillac into a highway railing while driving home on March 24, 1981. A signpost smashed through his windshield, almost missing his head. His right ear lobe required little plastic surgery to be repaired.
Mark and Martin Lafleur, as well as his wife Lise, survive him.