Stu Cowan: Touching Bell Center tribute captures Guy Lafleur’s spirit

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The first time I met former Canadiens defenseman Pierre Bouchard was about five years ago and he was in a log at the Bell Center with other members of the team alumni.

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“Hi,” Bouchard said while approaching me ready to shake hands. “I’m Guy Lafleur.”

I laughed and wondered how many times I had used that line over the years.

When I saw Bouchard again Sunday at the Bell Centre, I reminded him of our first meeting and he laughed.

“If you want a reaction… I give my name and there’s no reaction,” Bouchard said. “So I used to say: ‘I’m Guy Lafleur.’

“One time at a banquet, the guy said: ‘We’re supposed to have a hockey player here somewhere,’” Bouchard recalled. “’Can he stand up and introduce himself?’ I said: ‘Yeah, Guy Lafleur.’ Everybody laughed.”

Bouchard was among the group of Canadiens alumni at the Bell Center Sunday to honor and remember Lafleur, who died Friday at age 70 after battling lung cancer. The alumni group — which included Bouchard, Yvan Cournoyer, Bob Gainey, Guy Lapointe, Réjean Houle, Yvon Lambert, Chris Nilan, Rick Green, Pierre Mondou, Lucien DeBlois, Gilbert Delorme, Richard Sévigny — sat in the first two rows directly behind the bench for the game against the Boston Bruins, which the Canadiens lost 5-3.

The pregame ceremony honoring Lafleur was beautiful and emotional. It included two videos shown on the giant screen looking back on his career — one with Ginette Reno singing L’Essentiel in the background and the second with Frank Sinatra singing My Way.

It was perfect.

That was followed by chants of “Guy! Guy! Guy!” and a standing ovation that lasted 10 minutes for the man who’s No 10 hangs from the rafters of the Bell Centre.

It was wonderful.

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There was also no advertising on the boards — only Lafleur’s name, his autograph, his No. 10, the CH logo and the years 1951-2022.

Cournoyer was one of Lafleur’s best friends. The former Canadiens captain had puffy eyes while talking with me before the game from all the tears he had shed since getting the news early Friday morning that Lafleur had passed away.

“I knew it was going to happen, but when it happens it kills you,” Cournoyer said. “I used to say: ‘When I’m 70 years old, I want to have a good life and enjoy it.’ And he passed away at 70 years old. He talked about 70 and now he passed away at 70… he was a good guy.”

Cournoyer had already won five Stanley Cups when Lafleur joined the Canadiens for the 1971-72 season after being the No. 1 overall pick at the 1971 NHL Draft. Cournoyer still remembers the first time he saw Lafleur on the ice during his first training camp at the Verdun Auditorium.

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“I said: ‘I’ll tell you something. With this guy I’m going to win more Stanley Cups.’” Cournoyer recalled. “And I was right.”

Cournoyer would win five more Stanley Cups with Lafleur.

It was Cournoyer who convinced Lafleur to take his helmet off at the start of the 1974-75 season after he had scored 29, 28 and 21 goals in his first three seasons with the Canadiens. Lafleur would score 53 goals in 1974-75 with his hair from him flying in the wind behind him, earning the nickname Le Démon Blond.

“When Guy arrived with us I spent a lot of time with him,” Cournoyer said. “I told him to take his helmet off of him. I said: ‘Listen, Guy, you’re going to take off your helmet and you’re going to continue to play the way you play. You play very good and it’s just a matter of time. Like everybody, when you start, like I did I played (only) the power play for two years and I said: Why am I going to complain? We won the Stanley Cup and we finished first — what am I going to do?’ I said: ‘Don’t worry, keep doing what you’re doing and you’re going to be good.’ He took his helmet off of him, then he scored 50 goals or more for the next six years. That was Guy…he was a natural guy.”

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When asked if he had a favorite memory of his time together with Lafleur, Cournoyer said: “I got many. You don’t have to talk hockey… he’s like Jean Béliveau — you have to talk about the man. I’m talking about the man… I know the guy in hockey. The man was so popular, but he deserved it. He was a natural with the people. He loved everybody, everybody loved him. He was just a natural guy. Guy was a simple guy and that’s what we liked about him. He was simple with us, he was simple with the people. That’s the way he was.

“We spent 40 years together and every time we saw each other we shook hands,” Cournoyer added. “I’m going to miss him every day.”

With those words, Cournoyer’s eyes started to fill again with tears.

There will never be another Guy Lafleur.

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