Neither Lafleur nor Shutt were doing much for their first couple of seasons in Montreal, skating with the Black Aces under the direction of Floyd Curry, a man rarely mentioned outside of the more knowledgeable circle of Canadiens fans & historians... who also had under his charge Larry Robinson amongst others...
As for Steve Shutt "breaking out"... its my understanding that much like Guy Lafleur their being paired with the veteran Peter Mahovlich was key, in that Pete gave them the confidence they needed to succeed while guys like Henri Richard & Floyd Curry worked with Shutt & Lafleur... for those who dont know, Floyd Curry was a Defensive Forward par excellence who played on a line called the Wrecking Crew with the Habs late 40's & 50's, and who went on to have a varied & interesting career with the Canadiens off-ice in various capacities over the years, very useful guy.
It was Curry who traveled to Halifax, Scouted all of the Voyageurs games, reporting back to Montreal the various prospects progress & for example, it was he who having watched Dryden turning away 40-50-60 shots a night at the AHL level, winning games for the Voyageurs they had no business winning then recommended he immediately be promoted as even on the worst team in the League, Dryden could very likely take them to the SC Finals. Curry a Vice-President of the team, "Travel Manager".... Jack of All Trades.... unsung hero.... Its my understanding he did play a pretty big role in forging the iron backbones Larry, Guy & Steve would need to succeed at the NHL level, a tough taskmaster as sort of personal coach & mentor of the Rookies, Black Aces.