Geoff Molson, President of the Montreal Canada Hockey Club, said: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Guy Lafleur. All members of the Canadianiens are deeply saddened by his passing. his”.
In September 2019, Lafleur underwent emergency bypass surgery after a routine checkup revealed he had four nearly completely blocked coronary arteries, according to NHL.com. While performing emergency bypass surgery, surgeons discovered lung cancer and he will have to remove a third of his right lung two months later. The cancer returned in October 2021.
Lafleur, nicknamed “The Flower”, is a five-time Stanley Cup champion with Team Canada. The Habs picked Lafleur with 1st place in the 1971 Amateur Draft as the top junior tennis player in Canada with the Quebec Remparts.
Lafleur has scored 1,353 points (560 goals, 793 assists) in 1,126 career NHL games with the Canadianiens, Rangers and Quebec Nordiques. Between 1974-1975 and 1979-1980, the Canadian player scored at least 50 goals in six consecutive seasons and won the Stanley Cup four times in a row with Team Canada from 1976-1979 after winning the title. year 1973.
“You don’t have to see Guy Lafleur’s name and number on his sweater when ‘The Flower’ is mounted on his cane. Distinctive style and remarkable talent, Lafleur creates a character. dapper and unmistakable whenever he plunges down the ice rink of the Montreal Forum, his long blonde locks ooze out as he prepares to shoot another through a helpless goalscorer – or set up a teammate for a goal,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement Friday.
During his career, Lafleur won the Art Ross Trophy as the top scorer in the NHL and the Ted Lindsay Award – voted best player by the NHL Players Association – in 1976. , 1977 and 1978. He was also awarded the Hart Award twice NHL MVP and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988.
