Man Lafleur, the dynamic, freewheeling wing who helped lead the dynastic Montreal Canadiens to 5 Stanley Cup championships within the Nineteen Seventies, together with 4 in a row, died on Friday close to Montreal. He was 70.
The Canadiens introduced his loss of life however didn’t give a trigger. A cigarette smoker throughout his taking part in profession, Lafleur had been identified with lung most cancers.
Lafleur was a magician on ice, a inventive pressure who might deftly cut up defenses. He was the primary participant in Nationwide Hockey League historical past to attain a minimum of 50 objectives and 100 factors in six consecutive seasons — a streak that was topped by the 136 factors (56 objectives and 80 assists) he totaled within the 1977-78 season.
He amassed 560 objectives and 793 assists over 17 seasons, 14 of them with the Canadiens, one with the New York Rangers and two with the Quebec Nordiques. He received the Artwork Ross Trophy for main the league in scoring thrice, and the Hart Memorial Trophy twice, because the N.H.L.’s most respected participant. He was inducted into the Hockey Corridor of Fame in 1988. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada wrote on Twitter that Lafleur “was not like anybody else on the ice,” including, “His pace, ability and scoring have been arduous to imagine.”
Lafleur’s loss of life comes every week after that of one other nice scorer, Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders.
An entire obituary might be printed shortly.
