RIP Guy Lafleur

[Sea Bass]

Passed away at 70. I’m a bit too young to have seen him in his prime, but even at the tail end of his Habs career he scared this Bruins fan to death.

 

[matt_garth]

That's 1,133 goals we've lost from the right side in one week.

 

[Azrael]

Such a beautiful skater. So fast and fluid. Just a gorgeous, smooth stride. Unforgettable.

Rest.

 

[The Big Ragu]

Wow. 8 days after Mike Bossy. I always associate them. The two premier right wingers when I was kid, slightly different styles, but both dominant players playing for dominant teams, who really got me interested in hockey. Lafleur could skate like the wind.

Both were also smokers and had lung cancer. :( I have read stories about Lafleur sucking down 3 or 4 cigarettes in between periods, and am always amazed at how common that was in the 1970s, given how taxing hockey is in a cardiovascular way.

Really sad stuff. He was too young.

RIP

 

[maumann]

Goodness gracious. RIP, Guy Lafleur. That's quite the hockey team God's been assembling over the past 12 months. Somebody keep a close eye on Bobby Clarke and Frank Mahovlich.

 

[Splendid Splinter]

My old man was a diehard Bruins fan, so he hated Guy Lafleur. Deep down I knew he respected him because of that greatness. It's before my time, but man he could skate. Rest easy.

On the cigarettes part, didn't Lemieux smore two packs a day at one point in his career?

 

[garrow]

RIP to another legend of the ice.

 

[Woody Long]

Wow. 8 days after Mike Bossy. I always associate them. The two premier right wingers when I was kid, slightly different styles, but both dominant players playing for dominant teams, who really got me interested in hockey. Lafleur could skate like the wind.

Both were also smokers and had lung cancer. :( I have read stories about Lafleur sucking down 3 or 4 cigarettes in between periods, and am always amazed at how common that was in the 1970s, given how taxing hockey is in a cardiovascular way.

Really sad stuff. He was too young.

RIP

Smoking was somewhat of a cultural malaise in Quebec in the same way it was in the southern US. I remember hearing that Lafleur smoked five packs a day while playing in the NHL, which I found incomprehensible. My father worked for a Canadian company for most of his life and dreaded traveling to Montreal or Quebec because he couldn't stand cigarette smoke. It's only changed in the last 20 years or so, though it's been a while since I've been to Quebec.

My first year covering ECHL hockey, the home equipment managers had to put four things in the visiting dressing room before the game: two cases of Coca-cola and two packs of Marlboro Lights.

 

[Tighthead]

Guy’s finest moment will always be associated with Danny Gallivan saying “rather gingerly”, which is perfect.



My first hockey hero.

 

[Della9250]

Goodness gracious. RIP, Guy Lafleur. That's quite the hockey team God's been assembling over the past 12 months. Somebody keep a close eye on Bobby Clarke and Frank Mahovlich.

Someone put Bobby Orr in bubble wrap

 

[micropolitan guy]

An era when the Canadiens were the Canadiens, the absolute class of the NHL. RIP to a great one, before the Great One.

When I had Sabres season tickets (1971-72, my senior year in HS), we never had to buy a program for the original 6 teams, we knew all the players by heart. The Kings and North Stars, not so much.

 

[Machine Head]

Someone put Bobby Orr in bubble wrap

Bobby's a Trumper, which is a huge bummer to this old ****er.

 

[Jake from State Farm]

The 70s Canadiens were one of my favorite teams and the Little Flower cut a dashing figure on the ice back in the days before helmets with a toughness that belied his nickname

 

[Splendid Splinter]

 

[da man]

That Canadiens team caught my fancy because I loved their names -- Lafleur, Lemaire, Lapointe, Laperriere, Beliveau, Cournoyer, Henri Richard, Rejean Houle -- and kept it because they were so damn good.

 

[Jake from State Farm]

That Canadiens team caught my fancy because I loved their names -- Lafleur, Lemaire, Lapointe, Laperriere, Beliveau, Cournoyer, Henri Richard, Rejean Houle -- and kept it because they were so damn good.

When I visited Montreal in the early 90s I went to the Forum gift shop and on a clearance rack I found a Cournoyer 12 jersey and immediately bough it

 

[Splendid Splinter]

That Canadiens team caught my fancy because I loved their names -- Lafleur, Lemaire, Lapointe, Laperriere, Beliveau, Cournoyer, Henri Richard, Rejean Houle -- and kept it because they were so damn good.

and the nicknames...

Boom Boom, The Rocket, Pocket Rocket, Flower, Road Runner, Big Bird, Le Gros Bill...

 

[Sea Bass]

I also like “le Demon Blond” for Lafleur. Apologies as I can’t add the ‘accent aigu’ on my phone.

 

[HappyCurmudgeon]

Damn losing Flower and Bossy in consecutive weeks is a gut punch for hockey. Such polar opposites on the ice with LaFleur being a flashy skating wizard and playmaker and Bossy being this unassuming sniper with incredible accuracy. RIP to a great talent and a pleasure to watch.

 

[Tighthead]

Listening to Scotty Bowman on the radio now. You’d think he was about 50 years old. Immediately gives insightful answers. Still one of the sharpest minds in hockey.