Montreal Canadiens
At first, Lafleur struggled to live up to expectations in the league, but by 1974 had developed his trademark smooth skating style and scoring touch. He was a cornerstone of five Stanley Cup championship teams. He was 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", while among French fans he was dubbed "le Démon Blond" (the Blonde Demon).
During the 1978 Stanley Cup finals, Boston Bruins Head Coach Don Cherry ordered his players to put their sticks up and hit Lafleur whenever they encountered him. At the end of the series, Lafleur's head was swathed in bandages after numerous slashes from Bruin players. After Montreal won the Stanley Cup, he borrowed it for the weekend without telling anyone to show his friends back home in Thurso, where he set it out on his front lawn for all his neighbours to see.
In 1979, Lafleur released an album called 'Lafleur'. The album consisted of Guy Lafleur reciting hockey instructions, accompanied by disco music.
With Ken Dryden, Jacques Lemaire, and several other key players retiring after the conclusion of the 1979 season, the Canadiens' dynasty came to an end, losing in the second round of the 1980 playoffs to the Minnesota North Stars in seven games. Injuries shortened Lafleur's 1980–1981 season and his production dropped significantly (during the previous six seasons, Lafleur had reached or exceeded 100 points and 50 goals). In the following seasons, he was overshadowed by Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky.
While driving home on March 24, 1981, Lafleur fell asleep at the wheel of his Cadillac and crashed into a highway fence. He was nearly decapitated when a metal post pierced the windshield missing his head by inches while tearing off part of his ear. During the 1980–81 Montreal Canadiens season, Lafleur appeared in only 51 games and scored 27 goals. It was the first time since the 1973–74 Montreal Canadiens season that he failed to score 50 goals or more in a season.
During the 1984–1985 season, he started the season scoring only two goals in 19 games and was unhappy with the amount of ice time he was receiving from coach Jacques Lemaire. Furthermore his rocky relationship with Lemaire became intolerable for him, as Lemaire insisted that everyone on the team contribute defensively, whearas Lafleur was always an offensive minded player whose productivity overshadowed his defensive weaknesses. He asked to be traded but General Manager Serge Savard refused his request, as trading one of the most popular players in Canadiens history would have incurred a severe backlash from fans and the media. With no other options, he decided to retire, and his departure from the Canadiens was considered acrimonious.
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