This Day in Hockey History – September 18, 1971 – Guy’s Your Guy

Well before the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft even took place on July 10, 1971, Guy Lafleur was on the radar for the Montreal Canadiens. In fact, he was on their radar the previous December when Claude Ruel—the scout who was also responsible for the Canadiens selecting goaltender Ken Dryden—saw Lafleur playing with his Québec Major Junior Hockey League team, the Québec Remparts.

“I stepped down as coach Dec. 3 to go back to my old job of chief scout and by Dec. 6 I was on the phone from Quebec City to Sam Pollock. I saw Guy Lafleur that night and I knew right away. I told Sam that night…well I told him something,” Ruel said.

Undoubtedly Ruel strongly suggested that Pollock do whatever was necessary to snatch Lafleur in the draft. And fortunately for Montreal, they had the first pick in the draft that year.

Born in Thurso, Québec, September 20, 1951, Lafleur was 19 years old in his last year with the Remparts, and his second as captain. During the 1970-71 season, he suited up for 62 games with the Remparts during the regular season, and amassed an almost unbelievable 130 goals, 79 assists for 209 points. He led his team to the Memorial Cup Championship that year playing in 14 games where he tallied 22 goals and 21 assists for 43 points.

During the Canadiens quarter-finals round against the Boston Bruins in April 1971, which went the full seven games, Pollock actually mentioned Lafleur, who hadn’t even been drafted yet.

“If I had Lafleur right now, he’d be playing centre and the point on the power play in this series. There aren’t five or six guys at any level of hockey who can pass the puck like he can right now,” Pollock said.

The Canadiens managed to beat the Bruins and go on to win the Stanley Cup, but Lafleur would get his chance at the Bruins soon enough. But there was still a question of if Lafleur would be able to handle the physicality of the game at the NHL level.

“Until 20-year-old Guy Lafleur absorbs a few major league bodychecks, the jury remains out on his chances of becoming a superstar in the National Hockey League,” reported The Leader-Post of Regina. “In the bodycheck departmtnt <sic>, Lafleur should get his first taste of the NHL variety tonight [September 18] when the Canadiens play host to Boston Bruins in an exhibition game.”

Lafleur was to center a line with Frank Mahovlich and Yvan Cournoyer. Both of whom were impressed with the rookie’s skills. And apparently Ruel, Pollock and Lafleur’s line mates were all correct about his abilities.

“Montreal rookie Guy Lafleur shows every sign of stepping into the gap left by Canadien centre Jean Beliveau who retired from the National Hockey League club this summer. Lafleure… picked up three assists, Saturday as the defending Stanley Cup champions dumped the star-studded Boston Bruins 7-4 in an NHL exhibition game in Montreal.”

Lafleur’s assists were all to his line mates. The first was just 41 seconds into the game, when he passed the puck to Mahovlich. The other two assists were on goals made by Cournoyer.

“I was a bit nervous before the start of the game, but it didn’t take me long to get some confidence,” Lafleur said about his first preseason game in the NHL.

It would take Lafleur three years to develop his skating and scoring abilities at the NHL level, but once he did, he would become a scoring machine. From the 1974-75 season through the 1979-80 season he scored more than 50 goals during each of those regular seasons. He also helped the Canadiens to five Stanley Cups in 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979.

Today, if you visit the Bell Centre, where the Canadiens now play, you will find a statue of Lafleur in recognition of his many achievements for the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge. His statue sits out on the promenade with many of the other Canadiens greats.

Additional Sources:

• Ted Blackman, “Ruel’s hot on Lafleur like he was on Dryden,” The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec), Tuesday, June 8, 1971, p. 41
• “Guy Lafleur impressive in debut,” The Vancouver Sun (Vancouver, British Columbia), Monday, September 20, 1971, p. 18
• Guy Lafleur statistics, EliteProspects.com