The doors to the amphitheater opened at 10:30 a.m. (EST) and the last people will be admitted at 3:00 p.m.
Already, on Sunday, several thousand admirers of the legendary number 10 paraded in front of the closed coffin where his remains rest.
Preceded by former teammates from blonde demon
the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, and the Mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, they were able to say their farewells by bowing before the deceased hero, by placing their hand on the coffin or by sending their condolences to his wife and his bereaved family.
Members of the current edition of the Habs also made an appearance at the end of the afternoon.
More testimonials
The former big star of the Buffalo Sabers, Gilbert Perreault, wanted to come and meditate with the man who was an impressive adversary before becoming a friend.
It’s a great honor to do Guy. Well deserved with all he has done for hockey, the National League and the Elders
first said this very first choice of the NHL who also made the good times of the Canadian junior of the time in the Ontario League.
I had the chance to play with him for 15 years with the Alumni and without Guy Lafleur or Maurice Richard this opportunity would never have existed. I played with him on Team Canada in 1976 and in 1981 when we played together with Wayne Gretzky. I think it’s one of the best moments of my career.
” It was not easy to play against him. We had Don Luce and Craig Ramsay to cover it. I watched him skate from one end of the rink to the other. He had incredible power on his skates, he was a fabulous goal scorer. »
Perreault concluded by recalling how special it was always for him, as for all the other Quebecers in the NHL at the time, to play games in Montreal, against the great team of which Lafleur was a part.
Front row seats
The house announcer at Montreal Canadiens games since March 1977, Michel Lacroix gave his own impressions of Guy Lafleur, who remains for him the most electrifying player in the history of the Montreal team.
Lacroix spoke at length about the chance he had to announce to the crowd at the Forum what constitutes in his eyes and for a majority of fans and observers, the most important goal of Lafleur’s career scored late in Game 7 of the semi-final against the Boston Bruins.
I did not know that this goal would go down in history. But when I spoke to Guy again, it was often referred to. This goal was extraordinary and it changed everything. He then became the man of great occasions, the one who decided the fate of a match
explained Lacroix who was only 23 years old during this famous evening of May 10, 1979.
Yvon Lambert then gave Montreal the victory in overtime, propelling the team to their fourth Stanley Cup in a row against the Rangers.
The last date
On Tuesday, a little over 1,800 people are expected (by invitation only) at the Marie-Reine-du-Monde cathedral in Montreal, where the funeral of the man who made Quebec vibrate and mark so much on the ice rink and in the everyday life.
On this occasion, Radio-Canada will present a special program hosted by Patrice Roy from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on ICI Télé, ICI RDI and on the Internet.
The public will first be able to follow the funeral procession from 10:15 a.m. to 11 a.m., before the start of the ceremony. Journalists will be outside, where the public will be able to follow the funeral on two giant screens, in order to obtain the reactions of the personalities who came to attend the funeral.
Guy Lafleur’s statue surrounded by bouquets outside the Bell Centre.
Photo: afp via getty images / ALEXIS AUBIN
Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca