MONTREAL (AP) — Hockey Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur, who helped the Montreal Canadiens win five Stanley Cup titles in the 1970s, has died at age 70.
The No. 1 pick in the 1971 NHL draft, Lafleur registered 518 goals and 728 assists in 14 seasons with Montreal. With the flashy forward leading the way, the Canadiens won it all in 1973, and then four more times from 1976 to 1979.
Canadiens President Geoff Molson said the organization was devastated.
“Guy Lafleur had an exceptional career and always remained simple, accessible, and close to the Habs and hockey fans in Quebec, Canada and around the world,” Molson said in a statement. “Throughout his career, he allowed us to experience great moments of collective pride. He was one of the greatest players in our organization while becoming an extraordinary ambassador for our sport.”
Nicknamed “The Flower,” LaFleur was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2019 when tumors were discovered by doctors performing emergency quadruple bypass heart surgery.
Two months later, he went under the knife again to remove both the upper lobe of his lung and lymph nodes.
Lafleur, however, received bad news in October 2020 that the cancer was back, forcing him to resume his treatment.
“I get the immunotherapy the first three weeks, and then the fourth week I have the big chemo,” Lafleur said in an interview with The Canadian Press in November.
“It’s the chemotherapy that really hurts you badly.”
Lafleur’s family released a statement earlier this month thanking fans for their empathy and “the outpouring of love” shown the Canadiens’ great, adding he was being monitored closely by doctors and had occasional hospital checkups, but was at home.
Lafleur, who retired from the NHL in 1985 after Montreal denied his request for a trade, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988. But he made a comeback later that year with the New York Rangers and then played two more seasons with the Quebec Nordiques before hanging up his skates for good in 1991.
“You didn’t need to see Guy Lafleur’s name and number on his sweater when ‘The Flower’ had the puck on his stick,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “As distinctively stylish as he was remarkably talented, Lafleur cut a dashing and unmistakable figure whenever he blazed down the ice of the Montreal Forum, his long blond locks flowing in his wake as he prepared to rifle another puck past a helpless goaltender — or set up a linemate for a goal.”
Named one of the NHL’s 100 greatest players of all-time in 2017, Lafleur finished with 560 goals and 793 assists in 1,126 games in his 17 seasons.
He holds the Canadiens’ all-time record for assists and points. He scored at least 50 times in six straight campaigns from 1974-75 to 1979-80.
Lafleur won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer three straight years from 1976 to 1978, the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 1977 and 1978, and the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 1977.
“As a boy in Montreal, Guy was larger than life to me,” fellow Hall of Fame forward Mario Lemieux said in a statement. “I idolized him as a player, I respected him as a person, and always cherished him as a friend. He will be missed.”
