Guy Lafleur Biography, Age, Family, NHL, Wife, Kids and Net Worth

This article will answer every question you have about Guy Lafleur. Below are some of the frequently asked questions about him.

  1. What does Guy Lafleur do for a living?
  2. Who are Guy Lafleur’s parents and siblings?
  3. What are Guy Lafleur’s interests and hobbies?
  4. Is Guy Lafleur married or does he have a girlfriend/ boyfriend?
  5. Does Guy Lafleur have any children?
  6. Where is Guy Lafleur now?
  7. How tall is Guy Lafleur?
  8. How much money does Guy Lafleur earn?
  9. What is Guy Lafleur’s net worth?

N/B: Please read the entire post to have all your questions answered.

 Who is Guy Lafleur?

Guy Damien Lafleur nicknamed ”Le Demon Blond” and ”The Flower”, was a famous Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was the first player to score 50 goals in six consecutive seasons, and 50 goals and 100 points in six consecutive seasons in National Hockey League (NHL). Guy played right wing for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Quebec Nordiques in an NHL career between 1971 and 1991. He also played five Stanley Cup championships in 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979 (all with the Canadiens). Lafleur was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history in 2017.

Guy Lafleur career

Amateur career

Guy played from 1962 to 1964, at Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament for three consecutive years, scoring a tournament record of 64 points as a youth. He then earned great fame for his play as a member of the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in his teens. There he guided his team to the Memorial Cup in 1971 and scored 130 regular-season goals. By then he idolized Bobby Orr and Jean Beliveau. Guy got the nickname ”Le Turbo de Thurso” when playing with the Remparts, coined by Radio Canada broadcaster Jean-Bernard Rainville.

Montreal Canadiens

1971 NHL Entry Draft

Guy and fellow Canadian Marcel Dionne were among the top prospects in the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft. Sam Pollock, the Habs’ general manager, was keen to find a way to trade to get one of the top two selections. He convinced California Golden Seals owner Charlie Finley to exchange the Seals’ 1971 first-round pick and Francois Lacombe for Montreal’s 1970 first-round pick and veteran Ernie Hicke. Oakland then completed last, leaving Montreal with the first overall pick, Sam was reluctant between Guy and Marcel, but later chose Guy with the first draft choice.

Dynasty (1971-1979)

Lafleur wore No. 10, as Beliveau initially asked him to take his No. 4, but then had second thoughts saying ”Don’t try to be a second Jean Beliveau. Be the first Guy Lafleur. Take a number and make it your own.” Lafleur then received little ice time in his rookie season, as the team was deep in veteran players. During his initial three seasons, he struggled to live up to expectations in the league as he posted average statistics. This was more due to the fact that Dionee became an immediate star in Detroit, leading his team in scoring over his first three seasons.

Lafleur had developed his trademark smooth skating style and scoring touch in his fourth season, 1974-75. He had become one of the most famous players on a very popular team: fans chanted ”Guy, Guy, Guy!” whenever he touched the puck. Lafleur was described as a ”Jackson Pollock painting on ice, a frenetic innovator who pushed the boundaries of his art beyond what had ever been conceived, a singularly dynamic force that turned an everyday sight as simple as a man on skates with a puck on his stick into a masterpiece. Rivaling players frequently hooked and slashed Guy, who never retaliated. He was known as ”Flower” among English fans due to his literal translation of his surname, and as ”le Demon Blond” (the Blond Demon), among French fans.

From 1976 to 1979, Guy was a cornerstone of the Canadiens’ four straight Stanley Cup championships. As well as being named playoff MVP in 1977. In the 1978 Stanley Cup finals, Boston Bruins head coach Don Cherry ordered his players to put their sticks up and hit Lafleur any time they encountered him. By the end of the series, his head was swathed in bandages following many slashes from Bruin players. Following their win of the Stanley Cup, he borrowed it for the weekend without telling anyone to show his friends back home in Thurso, where he put it out on his front lawn for all his neighbors to see. Lafleur then launched the album, Lafleur! comprising of Guy Lafleur reciting hockey instructions, accompanied by disco music in 1979.

A photo of Guy Lafleur
A photo of Guy Lafleur

How old is Guy Lafleur?

Guy Damien Lafleur was aged 70 at his death on April 22, 2022, in Kirkland, Quebec, Canada. He was born on September 20, 1951, in Thurso, Quebec, Canada. Lafleur shares his birthday with famous people including Sophia Loren, Jon Bernthal, Brandon Burlsworth, Kristen Johnston, Lily Collins, Nicholas Hoult, Gary Cole, Tony Hale, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Timothy Simons, among others.

Guy Lafleur Family

Who are Guy Lafleur’s parents?

Guy Damien Lafleur was born in Thurso, Quebec, to Pierette Lafleur and Rejean Lafleur. Not much information is available about his parents and family in the media as he did not share it.

Does Guy Lafleur have siblings?

Lafleur was born to his parents as the only son in a family of five children and has four sisters.

Guy Lafleur Education

Lafleur had not disclosed any information about his educational background to the media. He kept this information as part of his personal and private life.

Guy Lafleur Wife

Lafleur was married to his sweetheart and longtime spouse, Lise Lafleur from 1973 to his death in 2022. The couple was happily married with two children and lived in Quebec.

Guy Lafleur Kids

Lafleur and his supportive and loving wife have two children together in their marriage. Their children are sons, Mark Lafleur and Martin Lafleur.

Guy Lafleur Height

Lafleur had a well-built, athletic and muscular body, adding up to an impressive height of 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) and a weight of 84 kg (185 lbs).

Decline and first retirement (1980-1985)

Following the end of the 1979 season, Ken Dryden, Jacques Lemaire, and several other key players retired. The Canadiens’ dynasty came to an end and lost in the second round of the 1980 playoffs to the Minnesota North Stars in seven games. Injuries then shortened Lafleur’s 1980-81 season and his production declined significantly. In the next season, he was overshadowed by Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy. Later while driving home he fell asleep at the wheel of his Cadillac and crashed into a highway fence on March 24, 1981. A metal post then pierced the windshield, missing his head by inches and grazing his right ear.

During the 1980-81 season, he appeared in just 51 games and scored 27 goals. This was the first time he had failed to score 50 goals or more in a season since the 1973-74 season. The 1983-84 season was Montreal’s first losing record of the expansion era. This led to coach Bob Berry, being replaced 63 games into the season by Lafleur’s former teammate Jacques Lemaire. Initially, Lemaire’s hiring was seen as a success as he led the team to their first playoffs series victories since 1980 and reached the Wales Conference Final. Although the Habs’ new coach had been Guy’s centreman during the glory years of the 1970s, the former linemates quickly struggled to transform their relationship into a great one between player and coach.

Retirement

Within time, Lemaire was renowned as one of the NHL’s finest defensively-minded coaches. Lafleur, on the other hand, was always an offensive-minded player who believed his productivity overshadowed any defensive weakness. Lemaire’s insistence that everyone on his team contribute defensively instantly caused a rift between him and Lafleur that never healed. Lafleur’s rocky relationship with Lemaire had become intolerable for him and he asked to be traded by 1985. Serge Savard, the general manager declined his request as trading one of the most popular players in Canadiens history would have led to a severe backlash from fans and the media. Left with no other option, Guy decided to retire, and his departure from the team was considered acrimonious.

Return to the NHL (1988-1991)

Following being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Guy came out of retirement to come back to the NHL. He returned for three more seasons, from 1988 to 1991, with the New York Rangers and the Quebec Nordiques. Guy remained one of the few players who did not wear protective helmets because of a grandfather clause. While playing against the Edmonton Oilers in a 1988 exhibition game, he played well enough to receive praise from the Oilers’ Mark Messier and convince Rangers general manager Phil Esposito to sign him to a one-year contract. During his first game back in Montreal Forum, he got a standing ovation when he came on the ice, and as in his heyday with the Hans, the crowd chanted ”Guy! Guy! Guy! every time he touched the puck.

Lafleur scored twice against Patrick Roy, to heavy applause, during the Rangers’ 7-5 defeat by the Canadiens, and was awarded the first star of the game. Despite his high-scoring days being in the past, his time with the Rangers was moderately successful. He also assisted the team to first place in the Patrick Division until he was knocked out by a knee injury. Lafleur followed dismissed Rangers head coach and close friend Michel Bergeron to the Nordiques for his final seasons.

With plans to complete his hockey career in Quebec where he had begun, he reportedly turned down a $1 million offer from the Los Angeles Kings, which would have allowed him to play together with Wayne Gretzky. He was able to score 24 goals in 98 games with the Nordiques over two seasons, mentoring young center Joe Sakic. Sakic was an emerging superstar although the Nordiques owned the NHL’s worst record in both seasons Lafleur played with them.

1991

In the 1991 Expansion Draft, the Minnesota North Stars picked Lafleur with the 20th and last pick. He had decided to retire for a second and last time as a player and had agreed verbally to an off-ice job with the Nordiques. Due to his retirement papers being yet to be officially filed, the league’s bylaws prevented him from accepting a job with a team that did not own his playing rights. The North Stars then solved his quandary by trading him back to Quebec in exchange for the rights to a former Nordiques who had been playing in Switzerland for two years, Alan Haworth. Alan just played moe more years of professional hockey, and never went back to the NHL.

Life after hockey

Gut operated a helicopter rental company in Montreal that shuttles VIPs to and from the airport. He was also at the controls when the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Andre Roy proposed to his fiancee, the Stanley Cup serving as the engagement ring bearer. Lafleur had his own brand of juice energy drink, ”Flower Power” in the 1990s. He owned a restaurant in Berthieville, Quebec, ”Guy Lafleur Mikes Signature” which opened in 2002. Lafleur then opened a new restaurant, called ”Bleu, Blanc, Rogue!” in Rosemere, Quebec, on August 4, 2008. He later sold it for more than $5 million in December 2012, but it closed on December 22, 2012.

Lafleur was appointed honorary colonel of 12 Radar Squadron, an air force unit in Bagotville, Quebec from 2005 to 2008. He was then appointed honorary colonel of 3 Wing Bagotville, the parent formation of 12 Radar Squadron in February 2013. Honorary colonels generally serve for three years. His son, Mark, was arrested for assault, forcible confinement, and other charges in 2007 and remained at his father’s house as part of his bail conditions. Lafleur was charged with giving contradictory testimony about his son respecting his curfew in 2009. He was convicted in 2009, but in August 2010, was unanimously acquitted of all charges by the Quebec Court of Appeal. Lafleur then filed a $2.8 million civil suit against police and prosecutors, claiming that his rights were violated and his reputation ruined, however, he did not win his case.

Health and death

Lafleur started having health issues in 2019 and had open-heart surgery with five bypasses in September. He then had a cancerous lobe removed from his left lung in November. Later he was diagnosed with cancer in his right lung in October 2020. He died at the age of 70, on April 22, 2012. This was exactly one week following Mike Bossy who also died of lung cancer. Both of them were Quebec natives whose contemporary careers as star right-wingers were often compared.

Guy Lafleur Net Worth

Canadian professional ice hockey player and right-winger, Lafleur played Canadian national team and in the NHL for Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Quebec Nordiques from 1971 to 1991. He was one of the most famous players turn businessmen with an estimated net worth of approximately $10 million as of 2022.