As I began writing a piece on the #9 Montreal Canadiens’ scoring right-winger of all time, I stumbled upon articles on RDS and La Presse describing an interview that Guy Lafleur gave yesterday. He walked the press down memory lane, at times commenting on the differences between his era and today’s NHL. He took stabs at the San Jose Sharks’ star players and their beards, claiming that he finds their length exaggerated and unheard of back in the day. He sounded off on expansion talks and disliked the idea of a franchise in Las Vegas and made it clear that he preferred to have a team in Quebec. Also, Lafleur offered his 2 cents on the current state of the Montreal Canadiens.
Evidently, he sees the hiring of Kirk Muller as both a blessing for the team and for head coach Michel Therrien. This should seemingly alleviate the pressure on Therrien’s shoulders and he should no longer feel any heat, according to the Flower. As mentioned in a previous blog, Muller will definitely facilitate communications between the players and the coaching staff, something that had been lacking since former assistant coach Gerard Gallant left the team in order to join the Florida Panthers’ organization.
However, I’m not so sure Lafleur’s statement will sit well with Habs fans. Overwhelmingly, 82.79% of the 1,226 respondents believe that Therrien will be replaced by Muller:
Results are in!
— Andrew Saadalla HB (@andrewsaadalla) June 8, 2016
Nearly 83% of respondents believe that Muller will eventually replace Therrien as head coach. pic.twitter.com/On2vCWxpcu
We’ll have to wait and see what the future holds, as it’s impossible to predict what the organization truly has in mind.
Furthermore, the Habs legend discussed Max Pacioretty’s role as captain and how Muller will help him deal with that pressure. I have no issues with that claim. After all, I had sung Brendan Gallagher’s praises as my choice for the captaincy and Lafleur felt the same way.
What bothers me however is his willingness to throw P.K. Subban under the bus. I’m not sure who he thinks he is, but he was way out of line in stating that #76’s flamboyant personality would’ve merited a few “...sticks to the back of (his) head…- loosely translated- had Subban been his teammate.
Moreover, he told an anecdote of when Yvan Cournoyer and himself were near the Habs’ locker room one evening before the start of a match and all the former players could hear was Subban’s “very loud voice… and “hyperactivity…. He went so far as to claim that the defenseman could use some Ritalin, and Cournoyer told him that if P.K. was from their era, he would’ve felt the physical wrath of opponents and teammates alike.
Well, I’m here to bring Lafleur back down to earth. This is no longer his era- that was decades ago. He’s not a psychiatrist by any stretch of anyone’s wildest imagination and has no right to arrogantly and publicly humiliate this team’s (arguably) best player, much less assume that he needs Ritalin. I can’t believe someone who’s had so much success in Montreal’s hockey-crazed limelight could allow such classless and out-of-line garbage to spew from his mouth, especially regarding the athlete who most proudly wears the Canadiens’ crest and is also an ambassador to the people, donating the most amount of money in the history of Quebec sports.
Subban does an exceptional job on the ice and off. His larger-than-life personality might come across as pompous in the eyes of certain irrelevant and bitter old men, but his teammates certainly love him and his “loud voice… can be the difference in hyping everyone up to lay it all on the line in front of the countless fans who- dare I say? – adore Subban more than they’ll ever like Lafleur.
The former #10 is not a consultant to the team, and he’s clearly out of touch with what fans truly long for.
My only wish is that journalists would stop asking him questions about his former team because frankly, I could care less about what that man has to say, and neither should any of you. One has to wonder what the motivation was behind Lafleur's comments, considering that he focused solely on personality rather than performance.