Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
I can't remember Lafleur in his hay day, but I do remember when he came out of retirement to play for the Rangers and then Nordiques. I watched a few of his last games in 90-91 as it was known to be his farewell tour and if you wanted to say you at least watched Lafleur play, it was your last chance.
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I only had the good fortune to see Lafleur live once, and it was during that same farewell tour. But I cheered for that Habs dynasty as a kid (to the disgust of my father, a dyed-in-the-wool Leafs fan) and Lafleur was always magic on HNIC.
There was some awful hockey played in the 1970s. A lot of games went approximately like this:
1. Faceoff.
2. Someone pins the puck against the boards with his skate. Big scrum. Puck moves three inches in 15 seconds before the ref finally blows the whistle.
3. Faceoff.
4. Someone else pins the puck against the boards, three feet further along. Big scrum. Puck moves two inches in 18 seconds before the whistle.
5. Fight breaks out. Crowd is entertained until the stupid boring game resumes.
Lafleur was the polar opposite of that. He made the most dazzling plays look effortless, and he never needed to play with his knuckles. He, more than anyone else, made me a hockey fan during a dark age of the game.