1971 NHL Entry Draft

[Kobe Armstrong]

This is something that I'm genuinely curious about. At the 1971 draft the Canadiens had the 1st overall selection and picked Guy Lafleur. Without a doubt, Lafleur was fantastic for the Habs and is one of the all-time greats, but my question is.... did they get the pick wrong? Marcel Dionne was picked 2nd overall, and produced better as an individual.

A breakdown goes as

Lafleur: 1126 games, 560 goals, 793 assists, 1353 points

Dionne: 1348 games, 731 goals, 1040 assists, 1771 points

Lafleur is an all time Hab hero, but going back in time was he the wrong pick? I wasn't alive then so I'm looking for your answers haha.

Yes, I'm bored.

Click to read more...

 

[pitcher]

It is really hard to say. Dionne would have produced maybe even more with the habs than he actually did, as he himself said that the style the Habs were playing would have been perfect for him. There is no doubt that he would have been a legend of his own here too. The thing with Lafleur is that he was the leader amongst leaders of that incredible team, and that his performances in the playoffs were incredible.

Lafleur has been so great for the Habs that I cannot really vote against him... but something in me tells me that Dionne might have been as good if not better for the team...

 

[TT1]

the guy we won 5 Stanley Cups with, performing when it matters the most is also a talent.

Dionne in the playoffs: 49 games, 21 goals, 24 assists, 47 pts - 0 cups
Lafleur in the playoffs: 128 games, 58 goals, 76 assists, 134 pts - 5 cups (and this also includes his terrible 83-84 playoffs, thats when he started to decline drastically)

the years we won a cup with Lafleur he had: (75-79 were his prime years)

72-73 (2nd nhl season): 17 games, 3 goals, 5 assists, 8 pts

75-76: 13 games, 7 goals, 10 assists, 17 pts
76-77: 14 games, 9 goals, 17 assists, 26 pts
77-78: 15 games, 10 goals, 11 assists, 21 pts
78-79: 16 games, 10 goals, 13 assists, 23 pts

 

[Hackett]

I understand your argument about lafleur in the playoffs, but the only thing I see glaring about Dionne is lack of playoff games. The rate of scoring is still pretty good. I can't hold a lack of playoff appearances against Dionne. I don't care how good one individual is in this sport, you need a deep team to go far consistently. Lafleur had that, Dionne... Not as much.

 

[TT1]

I understand your argument about lafleur in the playoffs, but the only thing I see glaring about Dionne is lack of playoff games. The rate of scoring is still pretty good. I can't hold a lack of playoff appearances against Dionne. I don't care how good one individual is in this sport, you need a deep team to go far consistently. Lafleur had that, Dionne... Not as much.

well if you look at his regular season numbers and his playoff numbers he was never able to maintain anywhere near his reg. season pace.. he played with the same players in the playoffs aswell.

 

[CupInSIX]

3 art ross, 2 harts, 1 conn smythe
vs
1 art ross

hardware doesn't always tell the story but in this case it does

 

[BJCOLLINS]

MD would have done well with those teams......it was the the very best of times to be a Habs fan & watch them on TV. Like Bobby Clarke said "it was like playing against an all-star team for 5-7 years".

Guy was clutch, he always came through when we needed him! MD was steady but Guy was electrifying!!!

 

[peate]

Dionne was a great player but a journeyman. Lafleur at his prime was simply spectacular, speeding down the wing with his blond hair waving in the breeze. He could control a game and had the fans on the edge of their seats every time he touched the puck. Guy! Guy! Guy!

 

[Le Tricolore]

I'm too young to have seen either of them play, but I'll go with Dionne since it means I wouldn't have to hear about all the stupidities coming out of that piece of **** Lafleur's mouth. **** him.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

I'm gonna put it in the polls section too

 

[AntonCH]

Interesting question, but anyway you frame it the answer will always come out Guy.
even when trying to monday morning quarterback it the majority will answer Guy
In his prime there was no, NO ONE, you'd rather want on the ice

 

[OldCraig71]

The memory of Lafleur flying down the wing with hair flowing in the wind and the shot that beat Gilbert is one of my greatest hockey memories. Lafleur is a Habs legend and we need another one just like him.

 

[Raimu]

Wasn't Dionne also hated at the time for refusing to play for Quebec Rempart and jumping ship to Portland of the WHL?

 

[wedge]

Marcel Dionne would have been a superstar like Guy Lafleur.. everytime I see a journalist article about Pollock's wizardry to get the habs the 1st overall, I'm always sceptical as Dionne has been as good as Lafleur, if not better. Could Dionne have become a better player than LAfleur if he had played with the habs? Probably. But many people say he would have crumbled under the pressure.

I voted for Dionne but I can't say the habs SHOULD have drafted Dionne. They got it right. It's just that I think they would have gotten the same results with Dionne, maybe a tiny bit better.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

 

[Grant McCagg]

I understand your argument about lafleur in the playoffs, but the only thing I see glaring about Dionne is lack of playoff games. The rate of scoring is still pretty good. I can't hold a lack of playoff appearances against Dionne. I don't care how good one individual is in this sport, you need a deep team to go far consistently. Lafleur had that, Dionne... Not as much.

Not being good enough to lift your team into a playoff spot in the first place many years was part of the negative aspect of Dionne's game. Dionne had great linemates in LA....Simmer and Taylor in particular...but in tight checking, close games against strong opponents you were as apt to see Dionne disappear even with Vachon in nets. Not so with Lafleur..he was always dangerous in his prime.

Lafleur was the best NHL player in his prime from 1975-80..and he was the best prospect entering the 1971 draft..no one would have picked Dionne ahead of Lafleur. Yes Dionne ended up with more points..he also didn't retire in his early 30's for four years.

 

[Schooner Guy]

Dionne had a great career and a longer career than Lafleur but Guy was for a few years the consensus greatest player in the world. Dionne never was considered the best. Listen to Habs hater Don Cherry talk about how great Guy was in the 1976 Canada Cup.

 

[SquiddFX]

I wasn't alive during this time so I am refraining from voting. I asked my dad the question and he said Lafleur 100%. He said Lafleur was more dominant.

 

[Stephen]

How come Dionne never joined the Habs at the end of his career? Seems like an inevitable victory lap that should have happened...

Funny that Dionne and Lafleur were reunited in New York.

 

[Darz]

Marcel Dionne was a very good player....he would of been a really good player for the habs....like a Jacques Lemaire or Steve Shutt (not comparing styles, just value to team), but they don't build a statue as one of the four greatest players, for the most storied NHL franchise, for those players.

They do for Guy Lafleur though.

 

[Mike Mike Caron]

Dionne is severly underated here, he was one of the greatest talents in the history of the league. Had he been drafted by a team like the Rangers, Bruins or Habs, he would have been a living legend.

But it's hard to argue against Guy's résumé with the Habs.

 

[Timelord]

I find it difficult to choose. Dionne had the better stats but didn't face the same enormous expectation that Lafleur had to deal with. It was like the second coming of Jesus.

It's the same sort of pressure that Galchenyuk experiences now except it was doubly so for Lafleur. What he did in junior was ridiculous and he was a Quebec legend before he even donned a Habs sweater. And Pollock would have been shot if he had taken Dionne for the same reason.

But on the other hand, Dionne played on weaker teams, at least none nearly as good as the late seventies Habs. One thing about Dionne, he was a superb dangler in tight corners (better than Lafleur IMO, but Lafleur was the faster skater), fast and very solid, strong for a short guy. Similar build to Andrighetto.

 

[Brainiac]

Dionne would have been a legend had he been drafted by the Habs. There's absolutely no question about it.

Better than Lafleur? That's a though one. Maybe, but we'll never know.

 

[Ice Poutine]

i remember back in '71 there was a rumor that Pollock almost got the 2nd pick of the draft also wich he would have used to draft Dionne also. It was all wild speculation for a 14 year old guy like me but here's that article about that:
http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2007/08/canadiens-almost-had-lafleur-and-dionne.html

 

[Naoned]

I find it difficult to choose. Dionne had the better stats but didn't face the same enormous expectation that Lafleur had to deal with. It was like the second coming of Jesus.

It's the same sort of pressure that Galchenyuk experiences now except it was doubly so for Lafleur. What he did in junior was ridiculous and he was a Quebec legend before he even donned a Habs sweater. And Pollock would have been shot if he had taken Dionne for the same reason.

I would not dare to choose, since I neither saw Lafleur, nor Dionne play. But that's what I was about to write. The pressure on Lafleur was unbelievable when he played for the Canadiens. Dryden writes a short bit about that in The Game, being the french superstar in Montreal, even in a superstar-ladden team, was obviously pretty hard to deal with. No idea how Dionne would have fared in the same situation.