Guy Lafleur, RW
- 6’0”, 185 lbs (6’1”, 195 adjusted)
- Inducted into the HHOF (1988)
- Stanley Cup (1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979)
- Conn Smythe Trophy (1979)
- Hart Trophy Winner (1977, 1978)
- Also placed 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th for the Hart
- Pearson Trophy Winner (1976, 1977, 1978)
- NHL 1st Team all-star RW (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980)
- Top-5 in scoring 5 times (1st, 1st, 1st, 3rd, 4th, 4th)
- Best 7 VsX: 130, 121, 111, 105, 105, 94, 61
- Best 7 ESVsX: 138, 120, 116, 109, 100, 100, 75
- Top-3 in playoff scoring 5 times (1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 3rd)
- Played in 6 NHL All-Star Games
legendsofhockey.net said:
Guy Damien Lafleur, the Flower, had a 17-year NHL career spanning two decades, from 1971 until 1991. He spent the first 14 years with the Montreal Canadiens, followed by a three-year retirement, and then he came back to skate with the New York Rangers for one season and the Quebec Nordiques for two. Known as one of the greatest right wingers ever to play the game and one of the most exciting offensive players of all time, Lafleur was also known as "le Demon Blond" (the Blond Demon) for his long hair, wild rushes down the ice and booming shot.
As a child, Lafleur was so in love with hockey that he used to sneak into the arena in his hometown of Thurso, Quebec, early on Sundays and weekday mornings to get extra ice time when no one else was around. He also slept in his hockey equipment to make his trip to the arena in the morning easier. "When I was a kid, all we saw on TV was the Canadiens, and all I wanted to be was Beliveau. We had one bleu, blanc et rouge Canadiens sweater and I fought the others for the right to wear it. I dreaded to be drafted by any other team but the Canadiens, and when they took me I was so happy. If any other team had taken me, I would have signed with the Quebec team in the other league [the Nordiques, who were then in the WHA]. But the Canadiens had the greatest tradition in hockey and it was my dream to play for them."
Lafleur joined the Montreal Canadiens the very fall he was drafted and became the first player in NHL history to score at least 50 goals and 100 points in six consecutive seasons. When asked about developing his talent from a young age up to that of a consistent 50-goal scorer, Lafleur said: "I think it was always there and it was maybe a matter of bringing it out. It was harder than I thought it would be and I had to try harder. I had to regain my confidence, maybe the most important thing. I have learned a lot to relax. I know what I can do now, and I do it."
Lafleur was a First Team all-star in all six of those consecutive 50-goal seasons and won the scoring title three times, the Hart Trophy twice and the Conn Smythe Trophy once. He has the highest career point and assist totals in Montreal history, as well as the second-highest goal total behind Rocket Richard. And when Lafleur reached the 1,000-point mark, he did it in just 720 games, the shortest time taken to hit that milestone in NHL history. After that, he concluded: "I'm not going to say that now that I have 1,000 points I can sit down and relax. I've got five or six years to go and I can shoot for more."
Sportswriter Bill Libby said that Lafleur "typifies what is best about this sport. He is an artist on skates, creating scoring plays the way a painter puts a vivid scene on a canvas with a brush. His start is explosively quick and his stride is swifter than the others. He sees where his opponents and teammates are and anticipates where they will be. He is a spectacular athlete in a spectacular sport and it is wonderful watching him work." To sum up what Lafleur meant to hockey, teammate Serge Savard said: "Guy Lafleur is the best. He was made for this game." Another Canadien, Steve Shutt, saw Lafleur in a different light. "He was strange. I mean, any guy who would be in his hockey uniform, skates tied tight, sweater on and a stick beside him at 4 o'clock for an 8 o'clock game has to be a little strange. But on the ice he played 100% on instinct and emotion."
Lafleur played 19 games at the start of the 1984-85 season but had only two goals in those games. It was then he decided to retire. In front of 18,000 fans at the Montreal Forum, he took one last skate around the ice and the crowd gave him a five-minute standing ovation. "After 13 years, I couldn't accept to be number two. I'm proud of what I did in the past and I'm proud I played for the Canadiens, especially on five Stanley Cup winners. I was in a slump and I wasn't scoring much at the time. I was frustrated."
But even when Lafleur wasn't in top form, he could still command respect from opponents and admiration from his fans. "Even when Guy wasn't at his best, when he got the puck and got into full flight," explained teammate Larry Robinson, "the fans were out of their seats when he went flying down the wing."
Brian O'Neill, NHL executive vice-president, said: "I don't believe any other player has come down in the past 12 years who could lift fans out of their seats like Rocket Richard. Guy Lafleur did that. He was a great one, and to us in the NHL, he symbolized how the game should be played. We are certainly going to miss him." Lafleur was joined in the on-ice ceremony by his parents, his wife, Lise, one of his two sons and Iva Baribeau his landlady when he played with the Quebec Remparts… Journalist Red Fisher commented: "Everybody knew that he represented something special as a maker of excellence on the ice. What not enough people are aware of is his decency off the ice. In all the years I've covered the Canadiens, I don't think any one of the teams had more rapport with or respect from fans in the other cities. The respect and reaction of out-of-town fans was almost surprising as if they felt that Guy belonged not only to the Canadiens but in large part to them as well."
…When it was suggested he be named co-captain of the Quebec Nordiques, Lafleur laughed. "The day you hear someone call me captain will be the day I buy a boat. Anyway, I've never been captain in 16 years in the NHL. But that didn't stop me being a leader in my own way." Two years later he retired from the ice once again and took another front-office job in Montreal. Lafleur's sage advice in his farewell speech after retiring for good with Quebec was this: "Play every game as if it is your last one."
Pro Set 1990-91 said:
In the NHL’s chain of superstars, he was the link between Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky.
canadiens Legends said:
He had trouble adjusting to the big city, and the goals were harder to come by… 64 points was good for a rookie, but more was expected from him… something magical happened in his 4th season when he shed his helmet and Bowman used him in more situations including penalty killing. Once the pressure was off, the goals started coming in bunches… he began to establish himself as the game’s best player… during these years he was the game’s most dominating forward, virtually unstoppable… his game was built around his tremendous skating ability and his great sense of anticipation. He lived and breathed the game, and it shows in his play… he was all instinct on the ice, knowing exactly what to do when opportunities arose. He was a difficult player at practice; the Canadiens’ could never work on their power play with him because he’d never follow orders. Engrained in the minds of hockey fans was Lafleur’s long blond hair blowing in the breeze… all skill and flair… charismatic both on and off the ice, he was regarded as the perfect player to accept the symbolic torch passed to him from Beliveau…
Honored players said:
…he was by no means scoring at will like he had in junior. He started to question his own abilities when fans grew restless with him. But he needed time to learn, time to develop NHL-level confidence, time to mature physically and emotionally. He was also questioned for his toughness. Fans, critics and opponents wondered if he was a coward because he didn’t like to go into the corners and he never dropped his gloves… at training camp in his 4th season, he discarded his helmet and the result was transforming… the helmetless look seemed to accentuate just how poetic and brilliantly fast he was on skates, and he received from advice from Beliveau, who told him to relax and keep focused on playing… he didn’t like fighting? No problem, he did his fighting with goals… the next four years were historic… they won the Cup each year, and lafleur led the way… the very engine that drove the car was Lafleur. His explosive speed down the right wing, his devastating shot and no-look passes simply terrorized enemy defenses and goalies alike… he wasn’t just part of the teams that won these championships, more often than not, he was the main reason they won… ironically he never won the Lady Byng despite enduring fierce checking without retaliating throughout his entire career. Lafleur was that rarest of player – a remarkable junior talent who came to the NHL and still exceeded all expectations.
Joe Pelletier said:
...In his fourth season " The Flower" blossomed into the scoring machine everyone knew he was capable of. Lafleur, who wore a helmet his first three years but removed it at the beginning of year four, erupted 53 goals and 119 points.
That was just the beginning of an era where the Canadiens were the dominant team in pro hockey, and Lafleur eclipsed Bobby Orr as the game's dominant player. He would go onto lead the league in scoring the next three years in a row, and recorded an amazing 6 consecutive years with at least 50 goals. Twice he was named as the NHL MVP and three times he was awarded the Pearson Trophy. He was the most exciting player in the second half on the 1970's, and helped lead the Habs to five Stanley Cup Championships, including four straight to end the decade.
His blazing speed and long flowing hair combined with his puck wizardry placed him first in Montreal Canadiens all time scoring and second on Montreal fan's all time favorite list, behind the immovable Rocket Richard, of course. He was one of the rare players that got you out of your seat almost every time he touched the puck. And to witness him score a goal was more often than not an event onto itself.
Who’s Who In Hockey said:
Until the 1974-75 campaign, Guy Lafleur hadn’t really caught fire in the NHL. Playing both right wing and center, point on the power plays, and killing penalties, Guy was far from the French Canadian star of the Habs, much less the league. But in 1974, Guy began to earn his tricouleurs. No one doubted his skating, shooting or stickhandling, but he was far from aggressive. Once he adapted to the harder hitting of the NHL, Lafleur became a full fledged Canadiens star… like Richard, Lafleur was not only a hero, but a tempestuous figure in Montreal sports…
Players: The Ultimate A-Z Guide Of Everyone Who Has Ever Played In the NHL said:
he brought a charisma to the team that spoke of the long Canadiens tradition… when he got control of the puck he literally brought fans out of their seats. He had that intangible quality of a star, a player that symbolized a team and represented its successes. He was a hero… as the premier winger in the league, he was forever being shadowed or given extra attention, as the euphemism goes for being roughed up, hacked and slashed. Yet, he never retaliated, fought or lost his temper… he had that intangible “je ne sais quoi”.
Forever rivals said:
Hockey’s most exciting player from 1974-1980. He had complete hockey skills, possessing breakaway speed, stickhandling ability and a devastating shot.
At the height of his career, Lafleur played with an almost preternatural combination of skills and spirit. There were nights when his physical and motivational edge was practically indefensible to opposition players. However, unlike some of the game’s masters – Howe, Hull, Beliveau, Orr – Lafleur was not an “effortless” player. His skating, although mercurial in speed, often seemed choppy, his moves not entirely efficient, he would swerve, dodge, whirl, he would crash on the brakes at an unexpected moment, always at top energy, and always with an implied glee at what he was doing to frustrate his opponents.
THN Top-100 Players of All-Time By Position said:
To comprehend the accomplishments and accolades accumulated by Guy Lafleur is to have your breath taken away… yet none of those honours could encapsulate what it was to see Lafleur streak up and down arenas for 17 seasons. The right winger was the epitome of what could come from a combination of pure talent and singular dedication. “Flower was a hard, hard worker,” said Mark Napier. “Sometimes I’d get to the rink an hour and a half before practice and I’d hear pucks banging off the glass – it was Guy. He’d dumped a pail of pucks and was coming down the right side shooting away with the lights off. He had a joy for the game and that was infectious.”
Added Darryl Sittler: “He was a competitive guy. When it was time to score a big goal, he was always the one to do it.”… the scary part was, the Habs dynasty, to which Lafleur was central, was so talented, he didn’t need to pull out his full arsenal of weapons every night.
Napier adds: “The big thing with the Flower was ‘don’t think.’ If he had 10 penalty shots, he’d probably miss nine of them, but if he had a breakaway with two guys hanging off of him, he’d score every time.”
Sittler says: “He was one of those guys like Orr and Gretzky – everywhere they go, they’re loved by hockey fans. Nobody has to tell them what Guy means to the game.”
Ultimate Hockey said:
... it was a joy to see him in his full glory… when he scored less than 30 goals in each of his first three seasons, the word “flop” was thrown around mercilessly. Then in 1974-75 he came to life… … the dazzling Lafleur blossomed into the NHL’s most exciting and dangerous performer… until Wayne Gretzky came along, Lafleur was the very definition of dominance in hockey… he left the game as one of the most popular athletes ever to perform in Montreal…
In a word - ARTIST
Hockey’s Greatest Stars: Legends and Young Lions said:
…frequently portrayed by the media as a disappointment, especially since Dionne had fared much better on the vastly poorer Detroit team. In truth, Montreal boasted an incredible lineup and intentionally broke in rookies slowly.
(in his comeback) Lafleur had succeeded in proving to himself and to everyone else that he could have been a contributing player during his forced “sabbatical”.
Retired Numbers said:
He was one of team’s great personalities, imperfect off ice in some ways, but brilliant on it when he had the puck… despite being closely checked most of his career, Lafleur was also one of the most gentlemanly players of his or any other era… Montreal had many elements to its successes, from Dryden to the big three, but it was Lafleur who drove the offense and generated the wins with his goals.
“after 13 years, I did not accept to be number two,” he told the fans at his retirement. “I’m proud of what I did in the past, and I’m proud I played for the Canadiens.:
Legends Of Hockey said:
Lafleur himself gave an identity and star quality to the best team of the era… Bowman could have harped about other players, but Lafleur was beyond reproach. He raised the play of his linemates Steve Shutt, and centremen Pete Mahovlich and Jacques Lemaire. They were stars in their own right, but Lafleur was the best in the game, peerless. Most of his goals, it seemed, were works of art, the product of his blinding speed, his puckhandling skills and an uncanny intuition. Others have notched more goals in their careers, but none have scored so many with so much flair.
…Lafleur had always found a way to score a goal when it was needed the most. It’s a tribute to Lafleur’s prowess in the clutch that it seemed inevitable that he’d find a way to score down the stretch. Yvon scored the (game 7 semifinal) winner for the Canadiens in overtime, and Montreal easily defeated the Rangers in the final, but the sense was that Lafleur won the cup with that slapshot from the wing against Boston. “We were such a confident team that, even in the dressing room before the 3rd period, there was no nervousness. No one felt the game would get away from us or that we wouldn’t win the cup.”
…the measure of his career was not statistics, but transcendent moments. Although the Forum must have seemed so far away for a schoolboy in Thurso, none made the rink more his own than did Guy Lafleur.
THN Top-100 Players of All-time (1998) said:
#11 = GUY LAFLEUR
For six years of Lafleur’s career, every square inch of the playing surface was more canvas than ice… in his prime, Lafleur was as elusive and impromptu as a windblown leaf. “He’s all over the ice and he doesn’t have any idea what he’s going to do,” said Steve Shutt, “So how can I know?” Few descriptions have been more apt. Lafleur's game was speed and passion, he a singular talent who played with a desperation that matched his skills. It often seemed he was a man among boys, inventing and reshaping a game that only he could play. He played the game with an instrinctual flair combining brilliant playmaking with superior goal scoring and an ability to seize the moment… the final Montreal seasons would see Lafleur play in mounting frustration. His old linemate Jacques Lemaire, now coach, installed a defense-first system that limited Lafleur’s ability to improvise… days after being inducted into the HHOF, he was back in the uniform of the NY Rangers, but it was a different Lafleur who came back. The mesmerizing skills were now gone, but in his dotage the mercurial artist had matured into a contented master.
Hockey’s #1 said:
During the course of that winter, Lafleur established himself as the uncontested master. Carried along by his aplomb and confidence, he put on a spectacular display of fireworks… before the entire hockey world, Guy had proven in indisputable fashion that he had guts. He had descended into the hell of Boston Garden where John Wensink threatened to chop off his head, and responded with two goals and four assists in the last two games of the Stanley Cup Finals. He scalped the Bruins singlehandedly. All that unfolded before an enraged crowd that was struck dumb by such effrontery.
In the spring of 1977, with Lafleur attacking like a mad dog, the question was asked; Who was the greatest, the most baffling, the most exciting hockey player of all-time? Was it Rocket Richard? Was it Bobby Orr? Was it Guy Lafleur? Reputed columnist Red Fisher paid him an unusual tribute: “I did not see the Rocket often enough to regard him as the most exciting player I have been privileged to watch. Up until this year, Orr has been my choice but Lafleur is nipping at his heels and will probably leave him slightly behind within a year or two. When Lafleur is on the ice, he owns it as often as Richard and Orr did."
…now 26, the Flower of the hockey world had executed his breakthrough with 60 goals against opponents searching for new stratagems to put the clamps on him. It wasn’t easy. Lafleur, who was given to turbulent improvisations and endless hustle, had become as slippery as a wet bar of soap. Ross Lonsberry of the Flyers, one of the checkers assigned to cover the Montrealer, bore witness to that fact. “We were accustomed to holding Lafleur well in check in the past, but for quite a while he has been eluding us. He simply loses us with his speed. What I am trying to do is keep an eye on him as soon as he gets under way in order to block his path. But it’s very frustrating. You think for a moment you have him trapped, and all of a sudden you realize you have hit nothing but air. He has flown away.”
…In the U.S., they were now publicly acknowledging the fierce right winger. No wonder, because in hockey circles they were bowing before his virtuosity.
…The invincible skater owns energy resources en masse, riches that the moderate use of tobacco could hardly encroach upon. “I am privileged in the sense that I am not disposed to putting on weight and losing my physical conditioning. Hockey seasons are so long that I never train in the summer. Perhaps it’s because certain people turned me off so terribly in my childhood.”… Presenting a strongly respectable physique at six feet tall and 200 pounds, Guy still doesn’t look like an athlete blessed with a solid build. But he is endowed with a redoubtable force and a weightlifter’s strength. Without looking like an insignificant weakling, he gives the impression from a distance of being an athlete with an average constitution, vulnerable to an extreme effort. But such is not the case! On the ice, he does not display the outside appearance and shattering experior of a Maurice Richard, a force of nature; the bull’s neck of a Gordie Howe, or the robust shoulders of a Bobby Hull, a completely muscleebound athlete. The fact remains that Lafleur has nothing to envy with respect to hockey’s greatest names. He is an athlete who is genetically blessed, endowed with a constitution that is utterly exceptional, and possesses remarkable genius for sports attributes which would have permitted him to reach the top in a number of other different games such as baseball or track…
His physical condition reached an exceptional level as Jean Bonneau, physical efficiency adviser for the Federal government, was able to discern in September of 1976. Bonneau and his group of experts subjected team Canada members to scientific test, measuring their heartbeats. Even though he had set aside all forms of training for several weeks, he astonished everyone by the quality of his physical condition. Lafleur practically equaled the Soviets who were by contrast submerged in a harsh program… Bonneau pointed out “he surely chose the right parents!”
…In the summer of 1978, when he was asked to analyze his manner of procedure, following sequences filmed on his puckhandling, Lafleur was stumped. “That’s something that has no explanation. It’s in my blood.” That bewildering power of anticipation that mystifies everyone, that which the specialists described as genius for technique, also springs from Lafleur’s blood.
… “there’s nothing special about that,” he says with a shrug. “It is not even worth mentioning. Hockey is like a drug for me. I am hooked. I can’t do anything about it!” Is Guy lafleur some sort of enigma? Is he some unfathomable paradox? Nothing of the kind. Guy Lafleur is just one of those rare athletes who only lives for his sport, hockey.
Overtime: The Guy Lafleur Story said:
Fearing a rise in violence, the Canadiens advised Lafleur to start wearing his helmet again. He would hear none of it, saying that it would only get in his way and slow him down. But by this time new materials were available to make padding and helmets much lighter and more effective. Nevertheless, Lafleur, out of pride or superstition, continued to wear his old shoulder pads, his soft leather skates that offered no protection than moccasins, shinpads so short that his ankles were left exposed.
Lafleur had become the man to beat in the NHL. Every coach assigned him a checker to cover him like a shadow. Jerry Korab of the Sabres, Dave Schultz of the Flyers, John Wensink of the Bruins – all the biggest and roughest players of the league were brought out to face him. Despite his incomparable speed and agility to avoid checks, he was often checked to a standstill. Bowman had no choice; Lafleur would have to adapt himself. Since Fred Shero had completely changed the rules of the fame everyone was going back to hockey as a rough and primitive sport… The Canadiens, who were not equipped to carry on this sort of war, prided themselves on playing civilized hockey, and now they had to make fundamental changes in their strategy and style of play. Bowman had understood that in Guy Lafleur, he had a true winner, a high scorer, but especially a star capable of generating intensity and excitement… he decided to build his club around Lafleur. He would give Lafleur his own goons to protect him and create open ice around him. Of course Lafleur was capable of taking care of himself, but his great talent was for putting the puck in the net, and doing it brilliantly enough to rouse the spectators. Aside from his powerful and accurate shot, he had something indefinable, a charisma, an aura, a precious asset that Sam Pollock called his “Gift From God”.
Thus, the Canadiens moved to a very offense-oriented game, the style of the 70s, and made themselves bigger and more aggressive than ever. Lafleur was surrounded by tough and fearless players… Lafleur himself was trying things no one else had ever dared – going into the most difficult places, into the corners that players had always avoided because they knew they would be trapped. But Lafleur seemed to enjoy throwing himself into the jaws of the lion. Shutt and Mahovlich passed him the puck just the same, knowing he would somehow escape. Lafleur was never so inventive and brilliant as when he was in the heart of the action, in the midst of the enemy zone. He was never satisfied to do things the easy way. After a few weeks, the three players had developed such an original style of play that completely bewitched and confused the opposing players, and had a wonderful time doing it.
Howie Meeker: Stop It There said:
TOP 50 PLAYERS OF ALL-TIME
1. Gretzky
2. Orr
3. Lemieux
4. Howe
5. Lafleur
6. Beliveau
7. Hull
8. Harvey…
Howie Meeker: Stop It There said:
When Jacques Lemaire drove Guy lafleur to retire in 1984, at least six years before he should have, I said, “it’s too bad Guy Lafleur never learned to play hockey like everyone else does.” My comment got a lot of play. The phone never stopped ringing. “Are you nuts or what?” I watched Guy play for years, talked skills with him for hours, and hired him many times at my hockey school… besides being a great physical talent, Guy was mentally similar to Gretzky. Lafleur always knew on offense what was happening and, as a result of what he was doing, what else would take place. He knew how to create openings, and how to anticipate or dictate how a play was about to unfold. Guy could see the game and would often put the puck to where the action was going, but unfortunately, more times than not, nobody was there. He was too far ahead of his teammates in thinking and reacting – and that was what I meant by my comment. It was too bad Guy never learned to play the game at a normal level like other players. Lafleur, like Wayne, played the game in another atmosphere. When you have one, two or three people on the ice who comprehend, read and understand what you’re trying to do and take advantage of it, it’s super! Gretzky had many teammates in Edmonton, but Guy, for the most part, was alone on the ice in his thinking. Oh, there were teammates who fit in pretty well with his brilliance, but he was never blessed with too many people who were at his mental or skill level.
When Lemaire took over as coach, he wanted Guy to play systems of discipline and patience, of which Guy had none. Other coaches like Bowman had said, “Guy, go play, do your thing, and we will feed off you.” Lemaire wanted to control Lafleur’s mind and body – not a chance!... Guy was a tremendous athlete and wonderful talent on the ice, and as readers will have noted, he ranked higher in my top 10 the more I thought about his skills and contribution… of the many attributes The Flower had, his most outstanding was his insatiable desire to win. Guy could not tolerate losing. He took nothing as seriously as his hockey. Some condemned him for that, others applauded. Either way, it was his fierce, competitive streak that makes him one of the true champions of hockey for all time.
L’Ombre et Lumiere of Georges Herbert-Germain said:
September 11, Guy Lafleur went to get his medical exam. The doctors were surprised by his heart. They were absolutely flabbergasted. Guy Lafleur had an ideal heart for an athlete, a dream heart. At rest, his heartrate was less than 40 bpm. It was just like the famous heart of Eddie Merckx, belgian cyclist champion, which was the talk of the international sport medicine community. And Lafleur, just like Merckx, possessed an exceptional power of recovery, meaning that after a violent effort, his heartrate came back to normal very quickly. Lafleur had good muscles, he was flexible, surprisingly strong, and all his reflexes were quick and safe. We had rarely seen, at the Montreal Canadiens clinic, such a perfect hockey machine.
Hockey’s 100 (1980 said:
#5 – Guy Lafleur. … more than any other player, he looked and performed as if he had been trained at the Bolshoi Ballet. If there can be one descriptive adjective for Lafleur, it is “exquisite”… when he was in his prime, Guy skated with a blend of power and grace that was unmatched among his peers. Despute a seemingly frail physique, he was able to generate one of the most dynamically accurate shots in history…when the game hung in the balance the Habs would call his number and he would invariably deliver. Time after time the fleet right winger would rise to the target of the opposition’s most intense defensive efforts. His ability to play his game in the face of even the most determined checking separates Lafleur from any and all of his competition… as solid as that team was, if you could stop Lafleur, opponents figured, you could shut down his team. Judged by the success of the Habs it is apparent how difficult this strategy was to implement… he was subject to numerous tests of physical toughness in his early years, but it was soon evident that roughing him up only served to have him come back twice as hard. Those who considered Lafleur a personification of his nickname were far from accurate. He would not be intimidated… To Lafleur, hockey was more than lacing up his skates for a game. The smell, sounds and ambience of the rink were addicting. Arriving early for games and staying late at practice became Lafleur’s habits. He would prowl around the arena hours before a game, mingling with the maintenance men and attending to his equipment. On a practice day he would linger on after his teammates, refining the slapshot that was his trademark… he stands as one of the finest pure scorers the game has ever seen, but what puts him above the one-dimensional scoring machine was his play in both zones. Along with being a capable defensive forward, Lafleur was a playmaker nonpareil. When carrying the puck into the offensive zone he could be chased, harassed and molested and still retain possession long enough to make a nifty pass to a teammate who would be in the clear because of the opposition’s overconcentration on Lafleur… he had the ability to dominate the ice and control the tempo of a game…
Ken Dryden: The Game said:
Once Bowman remarked to me that Lafleur seemed obsessed always to do better; that while he was a good team player, being the foremost player in the league carried with it a larger responsibility, and that for him anything less than a scoring title was not enough.
Habs Heroes said:
Those who ran Team Canada (1976 Canada Cup) thought a dry land training session would be a good way to start things and decided to have a fitness guru from the local YMCA put the players through their paces in the form of a 5-mile run. Steve Shutt says, “So here we go, we take off. Guy takes off and this guy from the YMCA didn’t catch him, no matter how hard he goes. So Lafleur does the five mile run and comes back and he’s in the dressing room having a cigarette waiting for the rest of us to come back.”… at the height of his magic, Lafleur seemed to be toying with his opponents the way he toyed with the guy from the YMCA… for those six seasons, Lafleur was otherworldly, the best on the planet… when it comes to offensive flair and excitement, there are only two who merit consideration as the greatest ever – Rocket Richard and Lafleur… he was slender, calm and graceful with a sense of elan and finesse that made him far more exciting than any other player ever could be. Teammates would marvel that the same player who chain smoked and often lit up between periods could come back to the bench after a long shift and not even be breathing hard… “Did you ever notice Guy Lafleur doesn’t sweat?” Rod Langway told THN. “He seems to walk on the red carpet all the time. No. 10, The Flower, that’s it. He’s in the garden all by himself.”
Dick Irvin recalled: “After his third season they had to sign him to a new contract and Sam Pollock called Bowman and Ruel into his office and said, ‘What are we going to do with this guy? Do we trade him or what?’ and they talked him out of it. And I’ll never forget it. It was the start of the 74-75 season and they were playing the Islanders at home and Lafleur didn’t have his helmet on. And by the time the game was over, you were saying, ‘Who was that guy? Who was #10 out there?’ He was a totally different player. It was an amazing transformation.”
“There’s absolutely no doubt about it,” Bobby Clarke once told THN, “Lafleur was the best player in the league for about five years.”
“It wasn’t an easy load to carry, being a god who was expected to act that way on and off the ice,” Shutt told THN shortly after Lafleur retired. “He was a very shy man who just wanted to play his game with no fuss or bother and it was tough for him to live with the load of people’s expectations on his shoulders.”
Excerpts from Lions In Winter – Chapter on lafleur called “The Lion in Flight” said:
…when you look closely you notice that Lafleur has something Bobby Orr has, the ability to accelerate so quickly and effortlessly, and to move to either side at top speed without losing a step, that he forces the opposition to back off. No matter how good they are on their skates, most professionals are just like the kids who play shinny on a pond; they favour one leg and one side, and when they move to their weak side they usually are doing it at a slower speed. Orr, Lafleur and few others can go both ways at top speed. As a result, for them the rink is much bigger.
Larry Robinson: “Guy, on the other hand, was practically handed Jean Beliveau’s sweater and told he was the replacement for the most popular Montreal Canadien ever. That kind of pressure would have destroyed a lot of players in any NHL city, let alone Montreal. It would have scared a couple of years growth out of me.”
Claude Ruel: “A lot of people look at Guy Lafleur’s first three years and forget that he was playing out of position and not complaining. Center demands a lot more than the wing and it is quite a change for a player coming off the wing. Going from center to wing is much easier. One good thing that came out of it was the fact that Guy really improved his passing game during those three years and that would really help him later on… he was a great scorer, that was obvious to everyone. But he was also the best passing winger in the league when he was at the top.”
…In the 1984 offseason, as he had before, Lafleur worked hard to keep in shape and reported to camp in top condition. But the magic was irretrievably gone… The Flower spent long stretches of games riveted to the bench, kept there by Lemaire… yet, Lafleur’s skating and defensive play were better than they had been in several years. He was skating well, as even the opposition would admit. Craig Ramsay, Larry Playfair and several other sabres discussed Lafleur’s last season on the afternoon of his public retirement ceremony. “The strange thing was he was skating much better this year than the last two seasons,” said Ramsay. “He wasn’t putting it in the net like he had before, but I always had the impression that when he got a couple, he’d return to normal. Before every game, our coach would say something like, ‘let some other team wake him up, don’t let Lafleur kill us.’” Playfair agreed. “say what you want in the press box; when you’re down here on the ice, you see a different Lafleur and this guy can still play hockey.”
…even though Lafleur had not been scoring, his teammates and fans were still rooting for him. But he was an open, festering wound that club management strove to cauterize. Shift after frustrating shift, Lafleur skated through his slump, seemingly a shell of the player who had terrorized a generation of NHL teams… his skating was still there, but every time he touched the puck it seemed he would instinctively make the wrong move. Every time he skated to the bench at the end of a shift, a collective sigh would float down from the seats. Everyone ached to see the Lion in pain, unable to shake it off…
Bobby Clarke: “ There are players in this league that make fans of the rest of us. Lafleur was like that. He was the kind of player you not only played against, but you watched when he was on the ice.”
The Hockey News said:
”He was probably used as much tonight as in some of the games he played last year for Quebec”… that was Scotty Bowman, commenting on the unusual amount of icetime given to rookie Guy Lafleur in a recent game… he responded with what was, by far, his best of the season. Besides playing at RW and center during the game, he was spotted around the various lines throughout. And, he impressed with his hustle and drive… he caught the eye of observers, with a driving two-way performance which raised hopes that he may, at least, have begun to hit his real stride. Fred Shero summed it up best: “Canadiens are both powerful and lucky. They can afford to bring a kid like Lafleur along slowly. They can live with his mistakes, because they’re deep in talent and don’t have to rely on him to push out and win the games for them.”
Complete Handbook of Pro Hockey 1972-73 said:
overshadowed by other outstanding rookies last year, but still scored 64 points… scouts couldn’t say enough about him… found adjustment to NHL tough at first but eventually fit in well with Montreal… Canadiens believe he will be a star.
Jim Proudfoot Hockey 1972-73 said:
Normally, Guy Lafleur’s rookie exploits would have won him the calder, after all, 29 goals and 35 assists are genuinely outstanding totals. But he happened to come along in a season when Dryden, Martin and Dionne were freshmen… “I couldn’t have been more pleased,” said Scotty Bowman. “And don’t forget, we started him out as a center between Mahovlich and Cournoyer. As soon as I switched him to right wing, he got his first goal. I really think that’s the slot for him... there’s less pressure on him there.”
The Hockey News said:
…one of Bowman’s latest moves saw Guy Lafleur given another whirl at center. “Lafleur is pretty rugged. He has good size.” Said Bowman. “A center has to do a lot of skating and it takes a guy with plenty of stamina to do the job.”
The Hockey News said:
Coach Bowman threw bouquets to Guy Lafleur and Jimmy Roberts when asked to name the players who had shown the most progress this season. “Lafleur has matured both as an individual and a player. Despite a 29-goal performance last season, he didn’t play up to the form of which he’s capable. This year, he’s putting out more, moving the puck better and always seems to be in the right position to get the shot right on the net.”
The Hockey News said:
LAFLEUR SPARKS “KID LINE”
It’s a sad but true fact that only when a forward starts to score goals consistently does he get a play in the press, but Lafleur had been playing some excellent hockey without actually scoring through much of this season… his winning goal against Chicago was as brilliant a piece of work as has been seen in the NHL in years. He virtually stickhandled the puck past a sprawling Tony Esposito after having shown the goalie some spectacular sleight of hand, coming up with a series of feints and moves that would’ve fooled any netminder in the business… Bowman continues, “the fact is, he’s been doing a lot of things well. He’s carrying the puck more than he did last year, moving it a lot better, and laying down some good passes. He’s more mature.”.. in a stretch of games in February the Houle-Tardif-Lafleur combine had been the hardest working on the ice. “The Bulldog Line”, they were called, for their non-stop digging. Most of the goals, at least most of the key ones, seemed to be coming from Lafleur. “
Complete Handbook of Pro Hockey 1973-74 said:
This could be the year he projects himself into upper scoring echelon… shifts between RW and C… a smooth and elusive skater with or without the puck.
The Hockey News said:
LAFLEUR DRAWS RAVES WITH HIS HITTING
Eddie Westfall had intercepted a Montreal pass and was knocked off the puck by a perfect hip check executed by Guy lafleur, who had raced from the New York end to catch Westfall… could that be the same Guy Lafleur who once thought that backchecking was something a chiropractor did?... this version of Lafleur was forechecking, backchecking, hitting and making plays… after two rather frustrating seasons, Lafleur has apparently matured as a hockey player, and it all started with a little fatherly advice from Scotty Bowman and Henri Richard. “The difference is I’m forechecking and hitting more”… He has been the habs’ best player of late and that pleases Mr. Bowman to no end. “Guy is one of the hardest working players on the team. I know sometimes it doesn’t look that way, but these guys with loads of talent often look like they’re loafing. He’s maturing as a hockey player now.”
...Yes, Guy Lafleur has been under some pressure since he graduated to the NHL…” There was a lot of pressure on me. I’d be so worried about making a mistake that I’d make even more. The more mistakes I made the more nervous I’d get. This year I set one goal and that was to play as hard as I can and forget about what everybody says.”… many observers feel Guy is due to become the player he’s expected to be. “Guy has been taking his man off the puck lately and that’s how he’s going to score more goals,” Bowman said… his play has been superb, and his hitting and checking have produced points for his linemates.
Complete Handbook of Pro Hockey 1974-75 said:
withstanding incredible pressure has been a major accomplishment for this former junior hockey great… goal production fell off last season, but other phases of his game improved.
Jim Proudfoot Hockey 1974-75 said:
”I think I played better hockey last season. I didn’t score a lot of points, but I played more of a two-way game,” says Guy Lafleur, discussing his third season. “The difference was that I was forechecking and hitting more, Henri Richard advised that a center should do those things and the coach said the same thing.”
“He was better last season because he was a complete player,” says coach Scotty Bowman.
The Hockey News said:
CANADIENS, BOWMAN HAPPILY AGREE – LAFLEUR HAS ARRIVED AS NHL STAR
Every fall it is asked, “is this the year Guy Lafleur finally lives up to his potential?”… for the first time in three years it appears the question has been answered… “I don’t think there’s any doubt about it,” says Scotty Bowman. “He’s playing the best hockey of his career, by far… he’s been setting up plays the same way he did as a junior. And he’s been checking effectively and playing with the confidence of a man who knows he can star in this league.”… Lafleur may never score 40 or 50 goals, but he’s become a better two-way player than anyone ever expected… “I guess this year I just decided I wanted to play tough hockey and work harder.”…Lafleur has adopted the bareheaded look and it has helped his hockey tremendously… “when I was wearing the helmet I was always thinking about getting hit. Now I don’t have the helmet I can be more aggressive and I don’t think about getting hurt.
The Hockey News said:
It’s shaping up as one of those years for Guy Lafleur, where everything goes right and absolutely nothing goes wrong… Lafleur has become more than a goal scorer. He’s become a goal painter, with almost every goal he scores a work of art. At 23, he has become a Picasso on ice… Kansas City coach Bep Guidolin says, “he’s everywhere at once and what speed. All the clubs that have been through Montreal have told me about Lafleur. And they weren’t exaggerating. He’s amazing. “Guy is doing the same thigs now that he’s done in practice for the last 3 years,” says Pierre Bouchard. “He’s learned to relax now and he’s learned to stop worrying about all the great guys they compare him to.” Claude Ruel sees Lafleur’s key to success as something more simple than confidence. “Guy’s success is easy to explain. It’s hard work. When you keep skating like he does the puck is going to come to you.” Work, confidence, maturity, the three have combined to make it a year to remember.
The Hockey News said:
MOST EXPLOSIVE PERFORMER
He has astonishing speed and is enormously elusive. He always seems to be on the move. When he gets the puck he goes for the goal with it. Guy lafleur is phenomenal, the most explosive performer in the NHL today. Only Gil Perreault and Bobby Orr can skate and stickhandle as well and they can’t shoot as well. Rick Martin and Mickey Redmond shoot as well, but they can’t skate and stickhandle as well. Phil Esposito scores more, but he does it like guys dig ditches. Lafleur can go end to end and put the puck in the net better than anyone in his sport today except Bobby Hull of the other league… “I love to play. I love everything that goes with playing – practices as well as games.”
..Claude Ruel says, “Success is hard work. Lafleur never stops working.” Scotty Bowman says, “nobody works harder. He practices as hard as he plays". A teammate says, “what he’s doing now, he’s been doing in practice for years. Now he’s doing it in games. He’s got a hold on his talent now. He’s tremendously talented and now, he’s relaxed and confident.” Lafleur adds, “When I discarded my helmet, it’s strange but it made me more brave… I decided I wasn’t going to worry about it. Now I go into the corners. I go after the puck. I go for the goal.”
Complete Handbook of Pro Hockey 1975-76 said:
Canadiens’ newest superstar… was one of two unanimous first team all-star selections… Name means “The Flower” and he doesn’t mind it… Could also be called “speed” because of the way he drives his sports car…
Jim Proudfoot Hockey 1975-76 said:
The word on Guy Lafleur after his first three seasons was that he shied away from physical contact and therefore could be intimidated. But last year, everything changed. Body checks ceased having an effect on Lafleur, and with that one defect removed he suddenly became the big man Canadiens had lacked since Jean Beliveau retired. “I don’t know, I stopped paying attention to the hitting. I didn’t think about it anymore. I was never really afraid, I just let it bother me. This year, I decided nothing would bother me.” Nothing did, either, certainly not enemy defenders… “What was especially pleasing was the way Guy went in the playoffs,” said Scotty Bowman. “He really proved himself there.”
Jim Proudfoot Hockey 1976-77 said:
The Flower seems like a particularly apt nickname for the artistic Lafleur… although he picked up 19 points in 11 games, he was a disappointment in Stanley Cup combat, strangely lethargic, and later events showed why. The police had uncovered a plot to kidnap him and hold him for ransom and he was kept on guard throughout the playoffs. “I went through hell,” he said… expectations were so high that 78 goals over his first three seasons added up to failure. “I wasn’t exactly afraid before, but I was always expecting to be hit. It wasn’t until I learned to ignore the whole situation that I was able to play as I was capable of doing.”
Stan Fischler: Hockey Stars of 1976 said:
A powerful yet smooth skater, Lafleur displays an effortless grace that lulls defenders into a false sense of security. With sudden acceleration, he is gone, behind the defense. Among the most deadly breakaway threats, Guy is "like a magician", according to Scotty Bowman. He resembles Beliveau with his gliding motion. His blazing slapshot reminds viewers of Richard and Geoffrion. When he lets fly from the point on the powerplay or the slot, the puck rifles past startled goalies before they can react. Lafleur's importance to the Habs is most evident when one examines their power play... the man responsible for the added fireworks in 74-75 was Lafleur, who had become the best point man in the NHL. "You'll never know what Guy is going to do on the point, but you can be sure it will be the right move," says Bowman... Guy doesn't need to be set up by his mates. Once he takes possession he is a master of puck deviltry. Guy's serpent-like moves have caused many netminders considerable embarrassment...
Lord Stanley’s Cup said:
A consummate gentleman, he was generally first on the ice and last off at practice, so his development into the game’s best RW was by hard work.
The Hockey News said:
LAFLEUR MORE DANGEROUS THAN BEFORE
Guy Lafleur, more dangerous than at any other time during his career? Well, if you listen to his coach and teammates… Ken Dryden: “this year, he seems to be able to get along by himself. The result is he creates his own openings. His play on offense seems to be much more varied than it was a year ago. He appears to be able to get by more than one player more often than before and he has been able to maintain his habit of making fakes and moves at full speed.” The speed is secret, says Bowman. “several times, he’ll come back to the bench and won’t even be breathing hard. He doesn’t tire easily.” Claude Ruel says Lafleur seems to dominate every game he plays. “That’s because he goes after the puck and he has the puck more often. Before this season, once he got his stick on the puck he’d pass it off to his center, now he leads the attack himself. And when he wants to skate, everyone knows what he can do.”
Rejean Houle says lafleur has the ability to fake both to the right and the left. “There aren’t many players who can do that and that gives him a big advantage against defensemen because they never know which direction he’s going to go. Most other players have a weakness and after a couple of games, defensemen catch on. But, they can’t take that chance with Guy.”
Lafleur appears to have become a complete hockey player this year… he has become just as defensive-minded as he is offensive-minded and backchecks as ferociously as he does when he skates at full speed on offense. “I’ll never accept losing. Never. The law of averages is bound to catch up with us, but that’s no excuse for a bad performance.”
…Lafleur wants to be a leader on this Montreal team. He fills the role partly with his play on the ice. He has also been the target of complaints by opposition players around the NHL. “Lafleur is dangerous with his stick,” says Chicago veteran Stan Mikita. “He doesn’t stop hooking or giving you little shots. Grant Mulvey of Chicago says he won’t back down from giving lafleur a taste of the same thing, “even if he is a big star and one of the best players in the league. He’s always got his stick high and he’s lucky he doesn’t get more penalties”.
Lafleur was surprised to hear the remarks. “I didn’t know I was getting a reputation like that. But I don’t feel bad because I get a few shots with the stick during a game. Especially around the nets.” It just goes to show that no matter what the opposition tries to do to slow him down, he bounces back harder than before – adding to his versatility and making him one of the great players in the game today.
The Hockey News said:
There seems to be no end to the achievements of the dynamic Guy Lafleur. They keep piling up and the incredible part of it all is the brilliant right winger of the Canadiens is capable of even bigger and better things… Sam Pollock doesn’t think Lafleur has even reached his peak.
Complete Handbook of Pro Hockey 1977-78 said:
His astonishing career continued to accelerate and people began referring to The Flower as the best hockey player in the world last season… won every award in sight… proved he can take it in rough series against Isles and Bruins… even with greatness of past three seasons, experts feel he is still not at full potential.
Jim Proudfoot Hockey 1977-78 said:
Last season was the one in which Lafleur achieved universal acceptance as the NHL’s premier player. It went beyond the awesome statistics and all the honors he earned. It was much more. It was the realization that he was in a spectacular class of his own. “He is one of the few players I’ve seen who can make fakes at full speed,” says goalie Ken Dryden. “He can feint equally as well to his left or his right,” says teammate Reggie Houle, “which is a big advantage because the defensemen can never anticipate what he’s going to do. You can get to know most guys’ moves but with Flower, there is no way.”
“It would be difficult to imagine a man having a greater season,” said coach Scotty Bowman.
The Hockey News said:
ARTIST ON SKATES
…his start is explosively quick and in stride and he is swifter than the others. He has the vision and intelligence to accurately assess the situation developing in front of him… he can shift directions sharply and smoothly and makes marvelous moves that confuse foes and carry him through thick traffic. He carries a puck on his stick as though it was stuck there, but with a flick of his wrist can put a perfect pass on a teammate’s stick or rifle a sure shot into any opening given… he is s spectacular athlete in a spectacular sport and it is wonderful watching him at work.
…the fabled Forum thunders when he takes the ice as it has not since Rocket Richard’s heyday…. Lafleur is more like the Rocket. No one could shoot like the Rocket, but Guy is a superior playmaker. Beliveau may have been a better playmaker, but Lafleur is a superior shooter. Beliveau was big, graceful. He was subtle and much of what he did you did not notice. Like the Rocket, lafleur is explosive and you see what he does as though he has scorched the ice as he went. The Rocket was chunky, combative, terrible tempered, the most exciting player I ever saw. Lafleur is slender, calm, cool, maybe the most exciting player today. Most experts believe him to be the best today.
There are one or two players who can do what he does, but they do not get the help he does. There are many great players on the mighty Montreal team, but he is the greatest. A loner off the ice, he is the leader on the ice. He controls the play when he is on the ice. He always seems to have the puck. It is difficult to take it from him. He is hard to hit, but handles the checks he gets. He has stamina as well as speed and can go all out all game. He steers clear of the rough stuff and fights, which are the worst things about this sport. He uses his stick on his foes a little too much, but sticks are used on him much more. He doesn’t complain. He carries on… “I do not have the big ego and I do not have to hear about my playing. I just like doing it.”
The Hockey News said:
LAFLEUR STRIVING TO BE ALL-TIME BEST
He was once called the best junior player in canada. Then the best skater in the NHL. Then the best right winger. Then the best player in the league. Now he’s called the best in the world and the only thing left for Guy lafleur to be called is the best of all-time. He may make it – he enjoys hockey that much, and he’s willing to work and work at being the best and he’ll accept nothing less. Lafleur is held in awe by just about everyone who is witness to his breathtaking finesse on ice. It begins the moment Scotty Bowman taps him on the shoulder… the audience pays strict attention… when lafleur circles his net to begin an assault on the opposite end of the rink, a rising crescendo engulfs the arena as the crowd’s anticipation grows… even when his sorties are aborted, he is apt to regain the puck like there was a string attached to it and renew his goalward thrust. Lafleur will keep trying to split the defense, send a teammate into the clear or control the puck in the opposition’s zone long enough for someone to get free. Though he appears more frail than many of his robust partners with his blond mane swept back from an almost angelic face, Lafleur has been tested out to have the most stamina of anyone on the team, a team which has to rank first or second in the league overall conditioning.
His seemingly effortless skating and ability to shift in either direction at top speed make it an adventure for the NHL defensemen who must see him bearing down on them in their nightmares… the constant attention paid to the Lafleur-Lemaire-Shutt trio has also brought Lafleur in for more than his usual share of crunching bodychecks. Of course, to hit Lafleur you first have to catch him, a pursuit rarely accomplished by even the finest skaters in the NHL, but among others he’s had close encounters of the upsetting kind with Stan Jonathan and Denis Potvin. “Sometimes a hard check is good for you… it wakes you up, gets you in the game. “
…the world’s most exciting player and a sight unparalleled.
The Hockey News said:
Lafleur this season again demonstrated quite convincingly why he has been selected by THN as the NHL’s player of the year for a second successive season. The dynamic RW is unequivocally the finest hockey player of his era and there is no telling what heights he will attain… he was easily the unanimous choice of our editors… if Montreal goes all the way as expexted, much of the credit will rest on his shoulders. He has been the driving force behind the Habs’ awesome offense which has brought most every NHL team to its knees the past three years.
Complete Handbook of Pro Hockey 1978-79 said:
Without question, the most outstanding player in hockey today… has won three straight scoring titles, two straight MVPs and is improving… his game is complete, without any weakness… once extremely shy, but has become more outgoing as he learned to speak English… two years ago he and his family were guarded night and day following a kidnap threat.
Jim Proudfoot Hockey 1978-79 said:
”He’s the greatest, without a doubt,” said Boston coach Don Cherry after losing to the Canadiens in the cup final. “This series illustrated the problems he creates for the opposition. You absolutely have to stop him. But you concentrate so much manpower and effort on that task that you leave an opening elsewhere. And Montreal capitalizes on that, naturally. So even when Lafleur’s not scoring he’s making a great contribution just by being there.”
“Another hidden factor,” says Scotty Bowman, “is the number of opposition penalties Lafleur causes. He’s so good, opposition players foul him a lot in trying to control him. They get penalties. We send out our power play. We score. Often it’s Lafleur who gets it or sets it up, but even when he doesn’t, he’s responsible in a very real sense.”
The Hockey News 1978 Yearbook said:
”I remember sending Lafleur out for faceoffs in his first year,” Scotty Bowman recalls, “and the other team would automatically send out their best center to face Guy. He couldn’t win a faceoff.”
…suddenly the cries of joy from the fans became interspersed with phrases like “overrated”, “choke artists” and “too timid”… the offer from the WHA Quebec group was looking mighty alluring…. But for Lafleur, there was no reluctance or hesitation when it came to finally signing a 10-year contract with the Canadiens… “it wasn’t as hard a decision as a lot of people might think… Why? Because at the time I realized that the NHL was really the only league to play in. I knew that it wouldn’t be the same even if I scored 200 goals in the WHA. Besides, I had something to prove, not only to myself, but to my teammates and the fans.”
If Lafleur’s contract coupled with his determination to prove himself to his teammates and fans wasn’t his sole inspiration, it certainly was a large part of it. He was a different player – more aggressive, less tentative and scrappier, tougher, exuding so much confidence that it was palpable to everyone who was near him… instead of characteristically avoiding the corners, Lafleur couldn’t get enough of the action, throwing elbows, returning shoves in scrums and refusing to be intimidated… One teammate recalls, “Guy almost had to be restrained, he was so anxious to get going. It was like watching a racehorse in the gate just before the starting run”…
In the two years since that season, Guy Lafleur has established himself as the preeminent player in the NHL, if not the entire world… “I don’t think that Lafleur knows how good he is,” says Ken Dryden. “What moves he has! He’s just unbelieveable! Sometimes I fall down watching him from my end of the rink. How’s a goalie supposed to stop him?” ...his length-of-the-rink rushes have made hockey fans forget about Bobby Orr. When Lafleur circles behind his own net and heads up-ice with the puck, opposing players as far as 40 feet away start skating backwards, creating a vacuum between themselves and Lafleur, merely hoping to contain him. For one player to attempt to check Lafleur going at full speed is like suicide in hockey: at best, the odds are the defender might delay Lafleur for a split second, but only at the risk of getting a penalty. Most probably, however, the defender will end up sprawled on the ice, completely out of the play as he watches Lafleur streaking unmolested toward the goal…
Lafleur’s agent, Gerry Petrie adds, “I think the most significant factor in his situation, is the amount of icetime he got from the Canadiens. After those first three years they said, OK, let’s see what this kid can do. Let’s get him off the bench and on the ice and let him kill penalties, put him on the power play, everything… once he realized he was going to get the icetime, he gained confidence. Once he gained confidence he started scoring goals and became an entirely different player. He was so sure of himself and so in control…”
Indeed, Guy Lafleur is a different player and the Canadiens are the best team in hockey primarily because of him.
The Hockey News said:
LAFLEUR’S CONSISTENCY BEYOND COMPARISON
You can marvel at the skating, stickhandling and shooting abilities of Lafleur, but what enhances his value even more to his team and to the fans who pay to see him, is his consistency. Slumps are common to all performers, but Lafleur seems to exist on a different level than the rest of the league…
The Hockey News said:
STOPPING CANADIENS’ LAFLEUR DIFFICULT TASK
…there is no doubt that the playoffs thrust individual players into the spotlight… there’s always the unsung hero who suddenly bursts into prominence and instant recognition… but a player such as this enters the playoffs with little or no pressure. If he is able to take advantage of the right set of circumstances he can become a hero, but if not – well, nobody noticed him much in the first place or at least didn’t expect great things… far from one of these guys, of course, is North America’s finest hockey player, Guy Lafleur. Everything is expected of him – all the time… teams know they have to shackle Lafleur, and they usually put out their top checking lines in an effort to do so and they still haven’t found a way to contain him. Intimidation? That won’t work. Most of the guys big enough to attempt to physically punish Lafleur aren’t anywhere near fast enough to keep him within their sights. Besides, he doesn’t scare easily. He knows people are going to try to provoke him, but he’s determined that he’ll do whatever necessary to help his team come out on top. In the playoffs, with game after game against the same opponent, one player is often singled out to try and deal with Lafleur. Contain him, hassle him, hinder him, infuriate him, get just mind away from revving up the Canadiens’ attack. What do you do about those checkers, Guy? “When someone is checking me very closely, I guess I look more to trying to make a play.”
Complete Handbook of Pro Hockey 1979-80 said:
The best player in the game; no one has consistently displayed the ability to control a contest so completely since Bobby Orr retired… swift, majestic skater who exudes confidence and class… most dangerous in clutch situations.
Jim Proudfoot Hockey 1979-80 said:
The Toronto Star asked NHL coaches to rate players in several special classifications last season and it came as no surprise that Lafleur was the #1 pick in five categories: best shot, best skater, best stickhandler, most colorful and most intelligent… but though brilliant, he was not quite the outstanding individual of the past years.
The Hockey News said:
…Guy Lafleur started the whole controversy by claiming that Claude Ruel was interfering too much in the operation of the team. “Geoffrion is getting advice from here and there and he doesn’t know where to turn. If Claude wants to coach, let him go behind the bench.”… this episode is far more serious than last year. He basically indicated that Ruel was sticking his nose in too many places and that it had to stop for the good of the team. Ruel was shaken… Lafleur was not fined for the outburst, which came as a surprise. He did not meet with coach Geoffrion about the incident, although he did shake hands with Ruel before he took the ice.
Complete Handbook of Pro Hockey 1980-81 said:
Reinjured knee in preliminary playoff series and his absence was pivotal in Canadiens’ 7-game loss to the North Stars… called “the most dangerous player in the NHL” by Bruins GM Harry Sinden… superbly skilled in all parts of the game and no player works harder… has most lucrative income from endorsements of any NHL player… A hero of epic proportions in Quebec.
Jim Proudfoot Hockey 1980-81 said:
It’s impossible to deduce from looking at statistics, but the 1979-80 season was a poor one for Lafleur – at least by his lofty standards… midterm knee difficulties pretty well eliminated him from contention for the scoring title and when it returned in the spring, he had to be scratched from the playoffs after three games… “It’s quite a tribute to a guy,” says coach Claude Ruel, “when he can have so much trouble and still do all the things Flower did for us.” One thing Lafleur did not do, however, was battle on in the playoffs despite his injury as so many (Jimmy Watson, Danny Gare, Bob Dailey) did. “I will not risk becoming another Bobby Orr just for the sake of one Stanley Cup,” he explained, before the Habs were eliminated.
Complete Handbook of Pro Hockey 1981-82 said:
Lucky to be alive… fell asleep at wheel of his sports car while driving home and crashed into highway fence. Nearly decapitated when metal sign most pierced windshield like a spear travelling 100 miles per hours, missed his head by inches, ripping off part of his ear… A bad year all around for The Flower… still was productive with 70 points in only 51 games… blazing speed and wrist or slap shot either on the move or from stationary position… ranks with the best of Canadiens’ long list of stars.
Jim Proudfoot Hockey 1981-82 said:
”I think the best way to handle that season is to forget it ever happened, It was a nightmare, the worst I ever experienced.” Lafleur was out of the Habs’ lineup on eight occasions, due to injuries, illnesses and a car accident in which he almost lost his life. “In analyzing our situation,” says coach Bob Berry, “you have to keep in mind that Lafleur is almost certain to bounce back after a year of being almost no factor at all.”
The Hockey News said:
The 1980-81 season was bad news for The Flower, so bad in fact, that if he had cornered the market on birth control pills the government would have passed legislation outlawing sex… Lafleur once again worked like a green rookie trying to earn a spot on the team. Once again, he was the offensive master, and when he didn’t have the puck, he was trying to get it, dogging it with a persistence and intensity that bordered on fanatical. But that had always been a strong point to The Flower’s talent garden. Although he was never rated on any list of the best defensive players, few great goal scorers were as strong without the puck. He never relied on his mates to get it for him; he went after the puck himself.
“I’m not at war with Ruel but the style of hockey he wanted me to play didn’t help. He stressed defense and I’m not a defensive player. I’m a player who must have the puck a great deal but Ruel kept saying ‘stick to your check, get back!’ It got to me and I hesitated in going for the puck. I stopped moving and my game fell apart. That’s when I started to lose my confidence”.
The Hockey News said:
LAFLEUR’S REBIRTH KEY TO HABS’ HOPES
Guy lafleur no longer rules the NHL by divine right… however, he is still the prince of Quebec hockey… this season, he has shown he is not about to abdicate his responsibilities to his people. He came into camp in excellent condition, perhaps the best since he first put on the Montreal uniform 10 years ago…
Complete Handbook of Pro Hockey 1982-83 said:
Still called The Flower… wilting now… no longer dominates like he once did… said to be on trading block… once an institution… retains crackling shot and breakneck speed… has been hampered by injuries the last two seasons… still has charm and grace and charisma
Jim Proudfoot Hockey 1982-83 said:
Has the Flower begun to wilt? Is the bloom disappearing already? These things seemed entirely possible last season… On the other hand, it says a lot about his stature in hockey when 37 goals and 57 assists constitute a mediocre performance and cause for concern. “I’m only 31 so I don’t think the fire’s quite out yet, but it may not burn as brightly as it once did.”
Complete Handbook of Pro Hockey 1983-84 said:
Once the most celebrated star in hockey, his star has fallen in recent years… beset by injuries, a near fatal car accident and alleged off-ice problems, he has slipped into a state of decline… has lost his stature as hockey’s top player… came under fire last season for criticizing Canadiens’ management… still has the moves and skill but has been hampered by lack of a center to set him free for more shots…
Jim Proudfoot Hockey 1983-84 said:
The Flower once held total sway over NHL defenses… now he’s 32 and those exciting exploits have receded into the past… but Lafleur is still a highly competent NHL winger whose 76 points led Montreal’s offense. “I think our future looks good,” says Lafleur, who ever tried to conceal his displeasure with recent Montreal management. “With Serge and Coco Lemaire rejoining us, we should be able to get back to where we used to be. And some of us won’t feel our efforts are going to waste.”
Complete Handbook of Pro Hockey 1984-85 said:
The best there was from 1974 to 1980… “I know I can still play but I need more ice time,” he says… Montreal fans still idolize him despite reduced scoring…
Jim Proudfoot Hockey 1984-85 said:
There was a regrettable tendency during last spring’s playoffs, to conclude that Guy Lafleur was all washed up. He had no goals and a paltry three assists during the Habs’ 15-game run. This pessimism overlooked two important facts. He was following the checking system coach Jacques Lemaire had installed so that scoring opportunities were minimized. But he defended thoroughly, with admirable speed and tenacity. Secondly, he had been 2nd among all Montreal attackers during the season, with 70 points. It wasn’t at all bad for a 33-year old. “He doesn’t dominate, the way he did when he was my right winger,” said coach Lemaire. “But he’s still one of the best players around. It’s true he’s not what he used to be but then who is?”
The Hockey News said:
The great Guy hangs ‘em up after a glorious 14-year career
”I was surprised he made the decision,” said Lemaire. “Having seen lafleur at his best, all that the did for hockey in Montreal, the goals he scored, the excitement that he gave not only to the fans but also the players he played with… it’s always sad to see a guy like that leave… he played so well, then getting the pressure that he had on him recently, I don’t think he deserved it.”
“We didn’t always agree,” Lafleur said of Bowman. “But I enjoyed my best years under him. I might have been tough on Claude Ruel, but maybe thanks to him I was a 50-goal scorer" …Lafleur’s criticisms of his post-Bowman coaches became almost as legendary as some of the goals he scored… he never seemed to be the same player after Pat Boutette kneed him in a 1980 playoff game…
“He could still play,” offered Craig Ludwig, who played with Lafleur for 2+ seasons. “He’s faster than half of the guys in the NHL yet, and he has got a great shot.”
Lafleur will be remembered among the NHL’s greatest players. “If it wasn’t for that guy, I’d have a couple of Stanley Cup rings to wear”, said former Bruins coach Don Cherry. “Besides his enormous ability and great desire, Guy had extraordinary charisma, the ability to bring spectators to the rink and then show them something unusual,” said Bowman. “Perhaps it’s unfortunate that Guy didn’t get the chance to try it with another team, because losing a player of his stature is a loss for the league. He was still skating very well, but seemed to have lost his touch with the puck…”
The Hockey News said:
He emerged from an era in the NHL that some would consider the dark ages, a time when intimidation was king and, as a rule, brawn won out over finesse… a renaissance man whose flair, charisma and dazzling array of offensive skills helped to alter the way the game was played, to put it on another level… the numbers surely speak for themselves, but neither words nor numbers can adequately describe the Flower in full flight, his hair blowing back, preparing to unleash one of the most feared shots… Lafleur was to the 70s what Maurice Richard was to the 50s, Bobby Orr to the late 60s and now, Wayne Gretzky to the 80s. In short, he was the dominant player of his time and his mark on the game is indelibly etched. In Quebec he was more than a hockey star, he was a folk hero. If there is a sad aspect to the end of his brilliant career, it is that his star burned too briefly, that he couldn’t stay at the top of the game longer… when his star shone, Guy Lafleur’s shone brighter than anyone else’s.
The Hockey News said:
IT WAS HARDLY A FLOWERY ENDING
Many of those who compile lists of milestone players in the history of the NHL tend to make a serious mistake. Such a list contains the names of the very few players who truly qualified for the title “superstar”, a much misused word… these are the players by whom various eras of NHL history are identified. Too often, the lists read this way in the post-war period: Gordie Howe and Rocket Richard, Bobby Hull, Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky. The blunder is the omission of Guy lafleur between Orr and #99. Sure, there were other factors during the Flower’s glory days, but for those six seasons, Lafleur picked up the NHL and shook it. He was the league’s best player at a time when the NHL and the game badly needed a man in the limelight for something other than penalty minutes… the unusual part of the Flower’s wilting was that he was still skating well, but that seemed to be the only part of his skill tower that had not crumbled. He seemed in fine physical condition and moved with oldtime flair. He would rush over a sizeable patch of ice with the puck but when he got there, nothing happened. His feet were good, but the magic was gone from his hands. “That was the unusual part of it with Guy, the fact that he was skating quite well in the games I saw this season,” said Don Cherry. “But he just didn’t seem to have the confidence in his hands to finish off what his feet had gained for him. I felt a little pang in my gut when I heard he was leaving because he was perhaps the last of the guys who could take the puck and go all the way with it.”
The Hockey News said:
Of Lafleur, you remember the good times, not the end. And not the beginning. He had such an odd career. Three seasons of finding his touch. Then six seasons of brilliance, where he was the game’s greatest player. He looked good, but didn’t produce. It was almost three careers in one, development, then brilliance, then he aged, before his time. Watching Lafleur in his final season was not sad, like watching many players age. It was puzzling. He looked like Lafleur. He skated like Lafleur. He did everything like Lafleur, but explode. Still, there was not one more magical to watch. Wayne Gretzky, at his greatest, will never have such flair.
The Hockey News said:
One sentiment has dogged Guy lafleur since his retirement… everywhere he goes, he is told that his decision to end a glorious career was a premature move. “I’m not planning a comeback… I don’t miss hockey and I’m too busy with my new job to even think about it… I would have enjoyed playing another five years, but I didn’t want the fans turning against me”.
Before Lafleur quit, there were jeers directed his way and callers to local radio shows were taking swipes at the man who, at one time, could do no wrong. Many of those same people, however, bemoaned Lafleur’s absence during the playoff series against Quebec.
Hockey Scouting Report 1989-90 said:
He doesn’t have the speed he once had, but Lafleur is still a very good skater. He retains a portion of his agility and lateral movement, but the fact is he can no longer elude the opposition the way he once did. Still, his skating retains a creativity, a freshness, a lack of mechanical rehearsal that no one in the NHL can match. Lafleur controls the puck well when he carries it, and he can lug it at his top speed. His hands are good, and he can fake his way through a string of defenders. Once through, his tremendous hockey sense and vision (he’s lost nothing in that regard) combine with his hand skills to deliver good passes to his teammates, passes that lead his mates into the clear. His sense also puts him in good scoring position; without looking, he knows the puck is going to the point – so he heads to the net for a pass or a rebound. The one thing that would make his skating and puckhandling better would be if he shot more. Guy can create openings, but too often last season he hesitated in his shooting. It’s not that he couldn’t get the message to his hands fast enough; Guy demonstrated frequently enough last year that he could get his shot off. Perhaps he just wanted to be a team player and find a teammate. Nevertheless, he should shoot more.
Never known as a physical player, Lafleur demonstrated that he can take the rough doing despite his age. He still operated best in open ice, more so now that he’s lost a degree of the foot speed that used to let him get to the boards for the puck and get away. He took his lumps last year and held up well, and his conditioning was fairly high… Lafleur is a supre-natural hockey force; he’s not in the game, he IS the game. The team loved him for his freshness and his attitude (first on the ice at practice, the hardest worker, first at the rink for games), and much of the Rangers early season success can be attributed to the effect Lafleur had on the lesser hockey mortals. He can still play the game, certainly without hurting the team, and as long as new management realizes that contributions are measured in class and attitude – and not just points – Lafleur will do just fine here.
Hockey Scouting Report 1990-91 said:
he has been significantly injured in both of his comeback years. His health will continue to be a concern… over an 80 game slate, Lafleur’s numbers would have been 24 goals and 68 points – not bad for an “old man”. Of course, the odds of his playing a full season are long ones… he remains the team’s hardest and most enthusiastic worker, and the attitude and spirit he can convey to younger players is beyond measure.
Coach’s poll results from 1976, 1979, 1981
Best passer | 2nd | 1979
Best playmaker | 2nd | 1979
Best shot | 3rd | 1976
Best shot | 1st | 1979
Best skater | 1st | 1979
Best slapshot | 3rd | 1981
Best stickhandler | 4th | 1976
Best stickhandler | 1st | 1979
Best stickhandler | 3rd | 1981
Fastest skater | 1st | 1979
First player to build team around | 1st | 1979
First player to build team around | 2nd | 1981
Most dangerous near goal | 3rd | 1976
Most dangerous near goal | 3rd | 1979
Most natural ability | 1st | 1979
Most natural talent | 3rd | 1981
Smartest player | 4th | 1976
Smartest player | 1st | 1979
Most Valuable Player|4th|1976
Most Valuable Player|2nd|1979
Most Valuable Player|2nd|1981
Most Colorful player|1st|1979
Best RW|1st|1981
What I said when I drafted him and shortly after:
seventieslord said:
Lafleur is a really rare player.... a winger who is just as good as a playmaker as he is at scoring goals... one of the only ATD wingers who can be the primary goal scorer, playmaker & puck carrier on an ATD top line... an offensive superstar who was even more visually appealing than the numbers he posted... e’s also, for a top-end ATDer, a case of a highly concentrated peak. Just about everything he did was in a six-season period. (though, don’t completely discount his 1981-1983 seasons where he was 13th in cumulative PPG).
Between 1975 and 1980, a period of six seasons, Lafleur was:
- Never lower than 4th in points (3 times an Art Ross winner)
- Never lower than 7th in goals (top-2 four times)
- Never lower than 5th in assists (top-2 three times)
- Never lower than 3rd in points per game (led league three times)
- Never lower than 5th in Hart voting (won it twice)
- Never NOT a first team all-star at RW (and only once was the voting close at all)
- The NHL’s leader in total G, A, Pts, & all relevant per-game stats (among those who played over half that time).
- The NHL’s leader in total PLAYOFF G, A, Pts, & all per-game stats (24% higher PPG than anyone else over this time).
Were the Habs stacked? Oh yeah... But when you think of those late 70s Habs, you think of Lafleur primarily, then you think of the big three, Dryden, Gainey, Lemaire. The Habs were stacked, but they were not stacked offensively. They did, however, score the most goals in the NHL four of those six seasons, and Lafleur was why. While Lafleur ranked 1, 1, 1, 3, 3, 4 in points, the best 6 finishes by a teammate of his were 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 12, and if you exclude linemates reaping the obvious rewards of playing with him, the best finishes are 12, 22, 29, 32, 32, 33.
There may never have been a more important offensive player to a dynasty, aside from the obvious, Wayne Gretzky. During the 1975-1980 period, which includes the years bookending the dynasty, Lafleur led his team in scoring by margins of 20, 31, 34, 35, and 52 points, and was on pace to lead by 19 one season but missed 10 games and his center didn’t. He participated in 36% of Montreal’s goals, scoring 1.66 PPG helped by players who averaged 0.92 themselves. He had twice as many points as anyone else on the Habs during this time, except for Robinson & a linemate. And he scored 44% more points per game than the next highest scorer (a linemate).
And that’s just in the regular season. In the playoffs over this time, Lafleur doubled every other Hab in G/A/Pts, aside from Robinson & linemates, participating in 40% of Montreal’s goals. He scored 43% more per game than the next highest scoring Hab (a linemate), & led the league in playoff scoring three times. He of course won one of the 3 Smythes awarded to Habs during this time.
.
Lafleur vs. Ovechkin:
seventieslord said:
If you look at the top wingers list from the HOH section, which we did at the start of the season only two before this one:
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/sh....php?t=1739023
Ovechkin was in 9th, well behind 8th, but it’s worth discussing two years later how he ranks today. I just recently got in a heated FB argument about how he's definitely moved up at least into 8th. He's not easily comparable with 7th or 6th so one could reasonably argue either way.
But passing Lafleur for 5th? Taking a look at the arguments in round 2 of the wingers list project (
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/sh....php?t=1738369), it’s hard to see how 2 more seasons of elite goal scoring and semi-elite point production can make up that gap, as we’re not even talking about his best seasons anymore. His best seasons are in the books and aren’t changing. Lafleur had a 7.5% edge in VsX7 at that time, despite his 7th included season being nothing to write home about, and nothing has changed there - Ovy only added to his score very marginally in 2015 & not in 2016 at all. Lafleur has the best and deepest Hart record in that group even after you add 2015 for Ovy.
Lafleur's value on his own team: he was the one getting all the Hart votes and being undisputed best player, despite playing on one of the most dominant teams of all time (ed. note, this user then posted a chart showing lafleur with 99% hart shares over 4 seasons & all Hab teammates combined with 22%)
Lafleur took awhile to adjust at each level mainly because he was on a team where championship performance was the expectation at the start of every season.
Ovy had an easier entry into the NHL - expectations for a weak team are not high but as the years go by he has not matured his NHL game to a level of diversity and completeness that would be expected.
TheDevilMadeMe said:
Playoffs
Lafleur was an amazing playoff producer during his 6 year prime, scoring 110 points in 72 playoff games - a ridiculous 1.53 points per playoff game over 6 seasons. Nobody else on his team or any other team came close during this time.
Top Playoff scorers 1975-1980:
player GP G A P
Lafleur 72 51 59 110
x 82 25 54 79
x 80 28 49 77
x 72 35 42 77
x 69 32 42 74
x 82 34 36 70
x 82 47 22 69
x 65 31 34 65
Robinson 79 15 47 62
As for Ovy, I think he's been generally good in the playoffs... overall, I think his biggest problem is that the Capitals team defense and goaltending have generally been disasters in the playoffs...That said, while Ovechkin's playoff record has generally been good, it's no Lafleur's, opportunity or not.
Conclusion: Their regular season resumes are close, but Lafleur should be ranked above Ovechkin because of his outstanding playoff performances.
Lafleur's main attribute was that he was fearless. Would go into the Boston Garden or Spectrum or other tough arenas and play his game.
The value that Lafleur brought to the Canadiens during his prime was that he could be extra shifted and produce extra offence while playing with non linemates. Players like ***** and others Under consideration this round did not have this attribuite.
Ovechkin's peak is just about as good, if you only consider '08-'10. 2 Harts, 3 Lindsay's, 2 Richard, Art Ross, 3 1st AS. Problem is it was only 3 years, and hasn't quite gotten back to that level. And while good in the playoffs just not at Guy's level either.
Lafleur was pretty much the consensus best player for most of his prime.
I feel like Lafleur belongs that high simply on the basis of being the consensus best forward in the world for a solid 6 years, which not many of these guys can lay claim to at any point in their careers. A 6-year prime of being #1 is better than a 10-year prime of being #3, in my opinion.
Personally I don't put a lot of emphasis on playoffs, because there's so much context and random variation involved, so I feel like dominant runs are the only things of major significance. And Lafleur is the poster child for dominant playoff runs.
Guy Lafleur is currently second. The nothing-then-prime-then-nothing argument seemed more and more silly when reviewing how the players of his generation did in their first years in the league. Yes, some did better. But all of those comparables were in a situation to put up numbers that look great on surface. Lafleur was not only stuck behind a guy that was one of the best at its position -- at the moment Lafleur joined and not that much in retrospective -- but he was also on a notoriously conservative franchise. Couldn’t do what Bobby Orr did, but nobody’s being held to those standards at this point. That, added to the fact he’s really the link between Orr and Gretzky, regardless of what ones might think and say, or actually write, and he was the best player on a dynasty
In the end, no one ranked Ovechkin ahead of Lafleur, aside from Hardyvan123.... So again, do an extra two seasons suddenly jump him up four spots on a list that is highly competitive at the top end? Remember, as fleshed out as his career is becoming, it’s not yet a full career either. Just comparing their regular seasons best on best:
- Prime 6 seasons (nonconsecutive, for Ovechkin’s benefit): Lafleur’s noticeably ahead of Ovechkin on this basis, by VsX, scoring rankings, harts, all the important stuff.
- Next best 3 seasons (1981, 1982, 1983 for lafleur, 2007, 2011, 2017 for Ovechkin): They played at similar levels (Ovechkin 9th, 10th, 16th in PPG, Lafleur 10th, 18th, 22nd, but he missed 49 games over those three years) – definitely edge to Ovechkin, just keep in mind that it matters far less than the prime comparison and the difference is 90% due to a handful of games missed per season
- 10th and 11th best seasons: Lafleur 28th and 48th in scoring, Ovechkin 15th and 37th (this doesn’t really matter but is here for completeness).
- And then…. There’s the playoffs.
And yes, “Team success is a tough one to factor in”. Even though this is why hockey players play hockey, I’m one who’s careful to just reward a guy for team success for its own sake. But with Lafleur it’s not just about having team success, it’s about what he personally did - being the MVP of a dynasty, arguably the most dominant dynasty in history.
BenchBrawl said:
Lafleur vs Ovechkin
TheDevilMadeMe made a nice post on this comparison here:
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/sh...&postcount=201
I'll reitere what I said before on Lafleur vs Ovechkin.Yes, Ovechkin's regular season value is getting better than Lafleur's, and the gap will get bigger and bigger considering Ovechkin is still a strong player and he's somewhat of an ironman.
...don't you get the feeling that Ovechkin has a great skill, and that he's just too good for the competition in goalscoring, and that he's not really getting out of his comfort zone? Surely it is difficult to win Rocket trophies, but we all know what the real challenge is for Ovechkin; being the cornerstone of a team that goes far in the playoffs, and this is what you'd expect a Top 5 Winger of all-time to have on his resume.
On Lafleur’s fast decline:
seventieslord said:
1. No video seems to exist on the internet but it’s often been cited that Lafleur was the victim of a predatory knee on knee hit during round 1 of the 1980 playoffs and was never quite the same after that
2. It’s worth mentioning again that Lafleur’s numbers were quite good in 1981, 1982 and 1983, (10th, 18th, 22nd in PPG) they just look even worse due to the lower GP (49 games missed over 3 seasons)
3. Lafleur was just about the beginning of a generation of players who tended to have poor longevity compared to the generations before and after it. It has never been completely understood why. He was 29-31 during 1981-1983 and if you take the cumulative points of anyone who was any of those three ages during those three seasons, he’s right at the top of the pack after Marcel Dionne – so he was still greatly outscoring his age group. Even in the 1984 season, when he stayed healthy and yet declined even more steeply, he was the league’s 2nd highest scoring 32-year old, after Dionne. Only one other 32 year old was even close (he outscored all the rest by 25+ points).
4. Despite the above, it’s completely fair to say that his numbers declined throughout the early 80s somewhat faster than these legitimate excuses can account for. It’s not something I want to pretend didn’t happen. Lafleur is a player whose best seasons all came in one consecutive bunch and, as great as they were, there were only six of them. If this wasn’t the case he’d be taken at the same time as Maurice Richard because his best 6 seasons - regular season and playoffs - are just as strong as the Rocket’s.
Lafleur vs. Cook:
seventieslord said:
About the Cook pick – I loved it. I’m glad to see him edge ever so closer to where he belongs. He went up two more spots, and that’s despite being leapfrogged by two modern players. Actually if you talk to a GM I confide in, he’d confirm that I briefly considered Cook over Lafleur for this pick. And it really could have gone either way, because in a vacuum, Cook could very well be better than Lafleur. I voted him ahead by one spot (5/6) in the HOH wingers project, and then did the same in the round 2 voting. You could say I was being contrarian, giving the older guy the benefit of the doubt because there were others there who I knew wouldn’t. But ultimately I couldn’t take him ahead in this ATD.
The really superficial argument for Cook over Lafleur - and I’ve seen it here stated almost exactly as such – is that he has approximately the same VsX, so he’s as good offensively, plus he’s a power forward and Lafleur’s not, therefore he’s better.
While both points are true, there are more points to consider:
1. Why was Cook not seen as particularly valuable in his era? I’m glad we historians rank him as we do, but he is a major outlier among the top-30 players of all-time in his Hart record (2, 2………). On the other hand, there is no doubt about how valuable Lafleur was seen in his time: 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Even if you are charitable to Cook regarding his two hart-caliber-ish seasons in the west and adjust for defensemen (which someone attempted), Hart voting doesn’t look great for him. I know you already said you didn’t have a good answer for this dreakmur, and I’m not just addressing this to you at this point
2. Lafleur’s playoff record is dominant and no this is not overstated. In a 6-year period, he had 39% more playoff points than anyone else in the league, and a 24% higher playoff PPG than anyone else. In Cook’s most flattering 6-year period, he was 2nd in points, 29% behind his own linemate Boucher, and a number of players exceeded his PPG average (if we use 16 GP as a cutoff the leader had double Cook’s PPG). He had the most games during this time, and there’s something to be said for getting into a lot of playoff games; it means you’re helping your team advance more often than not, so I don’t want to diminish it, but Cook was not the offensive force that Lafleur was in the playoffs, and he didn’t drive a dynasty – his team was a good, but not great 20-14-4 in this period.
3. VsX is just a starting point to determine a player’s offensive worth. Cook achieved just as much as Lafleur offensively in the regular season, but points aren’t scored in a vacuum; they depend on other factors. Linemates are a major factor. Jarek this weekend alluded to the difficulty of accounting for this and adopted the defeatist attitude that you “can’t” do it. While it is true that there is no set formula on how to do it, let’s all admit that we do it. We are not slaves to the VsX roughhand. If we were, there would be serious discussions about whether to take Esposito over Mario Lemieux. There’s nothing wrong with making a mental adjustment to a player – those of us who like VsX as a starting point all do it. If we’re looking at a clump of players with similar scores, the next things we’re all thinking of are, what else did they bring to the table, how were they in the playoffs, did they have longevity beyond this, and were they solely responsible for these numbers. To take this back to Cook and Lafleur – how many top-50 players were the longtime linemate of another top-50 player? Beyond Cook/Boucher, I can think of Lindsay/Howe and Bossy/Trottier. It’s not often that when you look at a top-50 player you need to be careful comparing their numbers to someone else, but when it’s one of these guys and the comparable is a player who was on a relative island offensively, it’s something to mentally adjust for. Lafleur outscord his nearest teammate (linemate, actually), by laughable margins on multiple occasions, while Cook outscored Boucher by 8.8% over his best 7 years in the NHL. Boucher was the best passer in the NHL at the time and though we can’t be certain how much he helped, he sure didn’t hurt Cook. Considering these two players achieved the same, but one did it with a linemate that was nearly his equal and the other did it with Lemaire/Shutt, Cook was not the level of talent that Lafleur was.
And yet, I totally get the reasons you would want to take Cook first. Had someone done it, I’d have said good for Cook. He’s an excellent player. Personally I wanted that irreplaceable elite offense. As nice as it is that Cook’s a power forward I can get that attribute from players I draft in the 200s and 300s.
