The top-10 list of The Montreal Canadiens’ all-time scoring right-wingers concludes with Guy “The Flower… Lafleur. Just as he joined the Habs in 1971, he posted 29 goals in his 73-game rookie season and followed it up with 28 the next year in four less games played.
Characteristically, the Montreal fan base was disappointed in the player it believed was to follow in the footsteps of the great Maurice Richard and Jean Beliveau. Lafleur had been preached about from far and wide, and the Thurso, QC native was supposed to be the next legendary player to don the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge jersey. After all, with 209 points to his name in his last amateur season, expectations were sky-high for the 6’0… right wing.
While he did add his name to the Stanley Cup in 1972-1973, his 3 goals and 8 points in 17 games were far from impressive. The Flower then took it upon himself to silence of all of his critics once and for all.
Fast forward to 1974. That year, he earned his nickname “Le Démon Blond… (the Blonde Demon) thanks to his 53 goals scored and 119 points in 70 games, and he was just getting started. He’d be the first-ever player in National Hockey League history to score 50 or more goals and 100 points or more in six consecutive seasons.
He’d be in large part responsible for four Stanley Cup victories in a row between 1976-1979, earning himself the Hart Trophy in 1976 and 1978 and the Conn Smythe in 1977, as well as Art Ross and Lester B. Pearson awards three times each through 1976-1978.
He was nearly impossible to stop and became one of the most highlighted players during his era. His speed and passing abilities never went unnoticed, as he always found his wide open teammates at full speed while being carefully watched by up to three defenders at once.
He’d retire in 1984 and had his number 10 jersey retired the following year. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame four short years later, and subsequently became the only player since the late Gordie Howe to come out of retirement and play after being inducted into the HHOF.
He left an everlasting legacy behind, with 1,246 points and 518 goals in 961 regular season games, as well as 133 points in 124 playoff appearances. He remains one of the few Habs’ Ambassadors although he has stirred up quite a bit of controversy over the past few years, most recently due to his comments on former Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban.