Stu Cowan: Guy Lafleur left a legacy of love toward Canadian fans

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When Chantal Machabée was first offered the job as vice-president of communications for the Canadiens last November, her response was: “Wow, are you asking me to work for Guy Lafleur’s team?”

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France Margaret Bélanger, the president of sports and entertainment for Groupe CH, was trying to convince Machabée to leave her television job at RDS after 32 years. After two more conversations with Bélanger, Machabée decided in January to change jobs.

Machabée grew up worshiping Lafleur and it was that love for the Canadiens legend that led her into sports journalism. As a young girl, Ella Machabée used to wait outside the door of the Forum where the players would enter, hoping to see Lafleur. She ended up getting his autograph from him 52 times.

In her new job with the Canadiens, Machabée was heavily involved in the planning for two days of public visitation for Lafleur Sunday and Monday at the Bell Center after he died on April 22 at age 70, as well as the funeral that will be held Tuesday morning at the Mary Queen of the World Cathedral.

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“It’s been really a monstrous roller-coaster,” Machabée said Sunday at the Bell Center. “There are days that I cry a lot, there are days that I’m very busy. The good thing — and it’s kind of surreal — is that I got into the business because of Guy Lafleur inspiring me. And when I came with the team he was one of the first to congratulate me and welcome me to the team. I accepted the offer, telling France: ‘I’m going to be on Guy Lafleur’s team.’

“Four months later, he leaves us. I woke up the morning of his death and I said: ‘Man, I’ve been only four months with the team and he leaves us.’ So I was really sad. But then I started thinking: OK, but I’m going to work on preparing his greatest honor for him and his last honor for him. So for me, the fact that he inspired me to work in the business and now I’m working on honoring him is quite special. That helps a lot.

“I know he was hurting a lot — he told me — and he just couldn’t take it any more. So I’m at peace with that. But it’s very emotional because I loved him so much. He wasn’t just a great athlete, he was a great man. I will always have him in my heart forever.”

Shortly after taking the job with the Canadiens, Machabée was a guest on the talk show La Semaine des 4 Julie when host Julie Snyder surprised her with a congratulatory video from a friar-looking Lafleur.

“I couldn’t believe it and I talked to his son, Martin, last week and we talked about it,” Machabée said. “He said: ‘Chantal, that video, if it wasn’t for you he would have never done it.’ He said: ‘For Chantal, I need to do it’ and he wanted to do it.

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“I believed so much after the show. I tried to restrain myself during the show because I was on the air and I didn’t want to mess up Julie’s show. But she surprised me with that video and I gave her a big hug. She said: ‘This is the greatest gift I have ever received.’ She sent me the video and I’m keeping it forever.”

In her new job, Machabée wants to help fans fall in love with the players the same way she did with Lafleur. She realizes times are different now with the added pressure and criticism that comes from social media. Many of the players used to live year-round in the Montreal area, so the team would travel across the province during the summer playing softball games and connecting with fans. The Canadiens also used to win a lot of Stanley Cups.

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“We’re going to have to bring a winning culture and we need the players to be closer to the fans,” Machabée said. “That’s why I wanted the players to talk to the fans after the last game (at the Bell Centre) and they said yes and they were great. That’s a direct connection with the fans.”

Brendan Gallagher, Cole Caufield and Samuel Montembeault all addressed the fans after the season-ending 10-2 win over the Florida Panthers.

Several players are expected to be at Lafleur’s funeral and I asked Machabée what they can learn from Lafleur’s legacy.

“How I loved the game,” she said. “How humble he was. How close he was to the fans. It was more than just being close to the fans, I loved the fans and I respected them. He wanted to make people happy all the time, whether it was an autograph or a picture — and he was happy to do that. That is the biggest heritage that Guy Lafleur can give to the Habs players now. It was a heritage of love.”

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