![]() But he had a privileged point of view, from behind the bench and on the practice rink. He won the Art Ross Trophy as the top point scorer in the NHL for three straight seasons, 1975-76 through 1977-78.īowman was as dazzled as anyone by Lafleur's magic touch. It was his first of six consecutive seasons of 50 or more goals and 100 or more points. Impatient fans brayed at Lafleur through his first three seasons of 29, 28 and 21 goals, a bit of heat taken off his individual statistics by the Canadiens' 1973 Stanley Cup win.īut Lafleur caught fire upon shedding his helmet to begin 1974-75, his fourth season. "Martin got on with Perreault and Robert and they clicked right away," Bowman recalled. 5 by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1971 draft and would find great success on the French Connection line with Gilbert Perreault and Rene Robert, who arrived by trade late in 1971-72. Guy Lafleur, with the Memorial Cup, salutes cheering fans in Quebec in 2009, and in a portrait as a member of the Quebec Remparts in 1970-71, his final season before being drafted by the Montreal Canadiens.įorward Richard Martin, a native of Montreal-district Verdun, was chosen No. ![]() "Dionne had gone to Detroit, a weaker team, and he was playing all kind of minutes with good players, picking up points right and left." "Guy was going up against established centers like Phil Esposito, Jean Ratelle and Stan Mikita," Bowman said. The pressure on the 20-year-old rookie, Bowman said, was tremendous. "I'm a zero on face-offs but the coach says I'll learn," Lafleur joked at the start. The move didn't help his adjustment to the NHL. Lafleur had done most of his scoring from right wing during his final season with Quebec, but the way the defending Cup-champion Canadiens were built, he began his career at center. Guy was just 20, and he knew that many wanted the Canadiens to draft Marcel Dionne (a fellow French-Canadian sniper who went No. And he was joining a team that had just won the Stanley Cup, upsetting the Bruins, then the Blackhawks. "But when Guy arrived, Beliveau had just retired. Everyone knew he was Rocket's heir apparent. ![]() So when Rocket retired in 1960, Beliveau had been there a good while. Beliveau had played with him for seven seasons, from his arrival in 1953. "Where were you going to get a player like Jean Beliveau? The Rocket had won five Cups in a row (1956-60). "Everyone was expecting Guy to replace Jean, which was impossible," Bowman said. Captain Guy Lafleur sits in the middle of the front row. The 1970-71 Quebec Remparts, winners of the Memorial Cup as the top junior team in Canada. The Canadiens, fans believed, were landing a French-Canadian superstar to pick up where their illustrious, freshly retired captain had left off, and eight-time champion Maurice "Rocket" Richard had sparkled before him.īowman just shakes his head at the absurd notion. If the Canadiens selected him in the draft that spring, as seemed virtually certain, the expectation of some was that he immediately would fill the skates of Beliveau. Lafleur had lit up the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League during two seasons with the Quebec Remparts, scoring 103 goals in 1969-70 and 130 the following season while leading Quebec to the 1971 Memorial Cup championship. That morning, the Canadiens were put up for sale by brothers David, William and Peter Molson, 24 hours after the legendary Jean Beliveau had announced his retirement following an 18-season career with Montreal that saw him win the Stanley Cup 10 times, five as captain. ![]() Serge Savard is on the other side of the Cup, with trainer Eddy Palchak, Guy Lafleur and Ken Dryden behind Bowman.Ĭoach and forward arrived with the Canadiens within hours of each other, Bowman introduced as Al MacNeil's successor June 10, 1971, the same day the draft was held in the ballroom of Montreal's Queen Elizabeth Hotel. Mourning the death of one of the most thrilling players in NHL history, a brilliant forward on his five Stanley Cup-coached champions through the 1970s, Bowman still is a little in disbelief that Lafleur didn't merely survive Montreal's hockey cauldron but would come to thrive in it.īowman coached Lafleur, a native of Thurso, Quebec, from his first face-off through his glorious prime, for 603 of his of his 961 regular-season games with the Canadiens between 1971-79, and for 98 of his 128 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs between 1972-79.Ĭanadiens coach Scotty Bowman, just to the right of the Stanley Cup, on Montreal City Hall steps following the team's 1973 championship win. Lafleur died Friday at the age of 70 following a 31-month battle with lung cancer.
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