Montreal Canadiens icon Guy Lafleur, who captured five Stanley Cup titles and was a hockey hero in Quebec long before his NHL playing days, has died. He was 70.
The cause of death was not immediately known. However, Lafleur suffered through health issues in the latter stages of his life. In September 2019, he underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery, which was followed by lung surgery two months later.
Then, in October of 2020, he endured a recurrence of lung cancer.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Guy Lafleur. All members of the Canadiens organization are devastated by his passing,” Canadiens President Geoff Molson said in a statement.
“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. 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.”
For decades, Lafleur — nicknamed “The Flower” — scored seemingly with ease at all levels of hockey and grew into the role of one of the game’s flashiest superstars. He often mesmerized fans with his signature long blond hair flowing behind him as he rushed up the ice before unleashing one of his patented booming slapshots.
By his 10th birthday, there were already signs that Lafleur was a generational talent, skating circles around kids three years his senior at an international peewee hockey tournament in Quebec City.
Lafleur played junior hockey for the Quebec Jr. Aces and Quebec Remparts. He amassed a staggering 465 points in two seasons and two playoffs with the Remparts, leading the team to the Memorial Cup title in 1971.
That year, Lafleur set the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League regular-season record of 130 goals, which was eclipsed by another French hockey prodigy, Mario Lemieux (133), in the 1983-84 campaign.
WATCH | Jamie Strashin looks at the legacy of Guy Lafleur:
Montreal Canadiens legend Guy Lafleur dead at age 70
3 hours ago
Duration 3:51
Montreal Canadiens icon Guy Lafleur, who captured five Stanley Cup titles and was a hockey hero in Quebec long before his NHL playing days, has died at the age of 70. 3:51
Being drafted by Canadiens was fitting
Guy Damien Lafleur was born on Sept. 20, 1951, in Thurso, Que., a small city in the western part of the province, and grew up idolizing Canadiens great Jean Béliveau.
So it was fitting he made his debut for the Montreal Canadiens in the 1971-72 season, taking the torch from his hero only months after Béliveau wrapped his career by skating off the ice as a Stanley Cup champion for the 10th time in the spring of 1971.
Lafleur’s arrival in Montreal, like his departure years later, was controversial. General manager Sam Pollock made a deal with the California Golden Seals to move up in the NHL draft to select Lafleur, passing on another highly touted French Canadian, Marcel Dionne.
Dionne outscored Lafleur in their rookie seasons, leading some fans to think Pollock had made a mistake in selecting Lafleur. But the critics backed off by 1973 as Lafleur hoisted his first Stanley Cup with the franchise.
All doubt was erased in the 1974-75 season when Lafleur broke out with his first of six consecutive seasons with at least 50 goals and 100 points.
WATCH | Lafleur’s most famous goal:
Lafleur’s most famous goal
6 years ago
Duration 1:14
Hockey Night Heroes: Guy Lafleur scored over 600 times in the NHL. Dick Irvin and Bob Cole reflect on his most famous goal. 1:14
He dominated the latter half of the decade, leading the Habs to four consecutive Stanley Cup titles from 1976 to 1979, and won the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player twice during that period. He also captured the 1977 Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.
His scoring prowess was so dominating in the late ’70s that legendary Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster Dick Irvin Jr. called him the greatest player in the world.
Lafleur transcended the sport despite his known habit of smoking cigarettes. Former coach Scotty Bowman said he would even smoke between periods.
“He’d smoke in the [hotel] room, but always in the bathroom,” said former Quebec Nordiques teammate Joe Sakic. “I told him he didn’t have to do that. I mean, I was in awe of him.”
Close call
On March 24, 1981, Lafleur barely escaped a fatal crash after smashing his Cadillac into a highway fence while driving home. A signpost smashed through the windshield, missing his head by inches. Minor plastic surgery was needed to repair his right ear lobe.
Lafleur’s relationship with Canadiens management started to sour in the 1980s. He was asked to rein in his free-wheeling style of play in favour of a more defensive style by Hall of Fame linemate and then coach Jacques Lemaire. After the team refused to meet his demand for a trade, he shocked the hockey world when, at only 33 years old, he abruptly announced his retirement weeks into the 1984 season.
For the next three years, Lafleur generally only played publicly in charity hockey events, and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988.
NHL return
That same year, New York Rangers general manager Phil Esposito convinced him to come out of retirement and return to the NHL. Lafleur played a season in New York, highlighted by a two-goal performance at the fabled Montreal Forum, resulting in a rare standing ovation for an opposing player. He then played two more years with his hometown Quebec Nordiques before calling it a career for a second and final time following the 1991 season.
WATCH | Lafleur returns to Montreal as a Ranger:
Guy Lafleur returns to the Forum as a Ranger
33 years ago
Duration 2:11
Habs fans cheer for beloved Canadien Guy Lafleur after he retires, then returns to the NHL as a New York Ranger. 2:11
At the time, Lafleur was only the second player in league history, after Gordie Howe, to return to the NHL as a player after being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
In his post-playing career, Lafleur became an ambassador for the Montreal Canadiens and established the Guy Lafleur Award of Excellence, a prize given annually to the top student-athlete hockey player in the province of Quebec.
In the late 2000s, Lafleur was in the headlines for non-hockey reasons.
Lafleur testified in 2007 at a bail hearing for his son Mark and was the subject of an arrest warrant in 2008 for allegedly giving contradictory testimony. He was found guilty in 2009 before the conviction was overturned on appeal a year later.
Today his statue stands outside Montreal’s Bell Centre arena alongside Canadiens all-time greats Howie Morenz, Maurice Richard and Béliveau. His No. 10 hangs in the rafters of the arena after being retired on Feb. 16, 1985. At the time it was the sixth number retired by the Canadiens franchise.
WATCH | Lafleur discusses his retirement plans:
Guy Lafleur discusses his retirement plans
37 years ago
Duration 2:35
In December 1984, Guy Lafleur talks about his plans after retiring from his playing days. 2:35
Lafleur is still the Canadiens’ record holder for points (1,246), assists (728) and game-winning goals (94).
He was named No. 11 on the list of the NHL’s 100 all-time greatest players by the Hockey News in 1998. Lafleur was also named one of the 100 greatest players by the NHL as part of its centennial celebration in 2017.
Lafleur is survived by his two sons, Mark and Martin, and his wife, Lise.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
