Guy Lafleur ✝

Lafleur started playing hockey at the age of five after receiving his first hockey stick as a Christmas present. As a youth, he played at the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament three consecutive years from 1962 to 1964, and scored a tournament record of 64 points. In his teens, Lafleur gained considerable recognition for his play as a member of the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where he led his team to the Memorial Cup in 1971, scoring 130 regular season goals. At the time, Lafleur idolized Jean Béliveau and Bobby Orr.\n', ' With Lafleur and fellow French-Canadian Marcel Dionne among the top prospects in the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft, the Habs\' general manager, Sam Pollock, was keen to find a way to trade to obtain one of the top two picks. He persuaded California Golden Seals owner Charlie Finley to trade the Seals\' 1971 first-round pick and François Lacombe in return for Montreal\'s 1970 first-round pick and veteran Ernie Hicke. Unrelated to the draft of that year was the dealing of Ralph Backstrom, often credited as helping the Kings stay out of last place; however, at the time of the trade the Kings were ahead of the Seals, Red Wings, Sabres, and Canucks, and the deal had no effect on the Kings\' standings that year. Oakland finished last, leaving Montreal with the first overall pick (the draft lottery had not yet been implemented). Pollock hesitated between Lafleur and Dionne, but chose Lafleur with the first draft choice.\n', ' At first, Lafleur struggled to live up to expectations in the league—the more so in that Dionne became an immediate star in Detroit who led his team in scoring over his first three seasons. By 1974, Lafleur had developed his trademark smooth skating style and scoring touch, making him one of the most popular players on a very popular team; fans chanted "Guy, Guy, Guy!" whenever he touched the puck. He became known among English fans as "Flower" due to his literal translation of his surname, while among French fans he was dubbed "le Démon Blond" (the Blond Demon).\n', '