The late Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur would have celebrated his 73rd birthday today

Guy Lafleur, one of only three men to play in the NHL after being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, was born on this date in 1951 in Thurso, Que.

Lafleur officially became a member of the Hall of Fame on September 7, 1988. Having already announced his plan to attempt a comeback with the New York Rangers, the 37-year-old legend was on the ice four days later for Day 1 of the Blueshirts’ training camp in Trois-Rivieres, Que. Lafleur made the Rangers and played three more seasons in the NHL, including two with the Quebec Nordiques, before retiring for good in 1991.

The Flower had earned his Hall of Fame credentials in a superlative career with the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs drafted him 1^st overall in 1971 from the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL, and after a slow start, he became probably the most exciting NHL player of the 1970s. Le Demon Blond registered at least 50 goals and 119 points in six consecutive seasons starting in 1974-75, winning six all-star selections, three scoring titles, two Hart Trophies as the NHL’s most valuable player, three Pearson Awards as the league’s most outstanding player, as voted by his peers. He was also part of five Stanley Cup-winning teams in Montreal and was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the MVP of the 1977 playoffs.

Lafleur, unhappy with his playing time and unable to compel the Canadiens to trade him, abruptly retired during the 1984-85 season. Idle for the next three seasons, this gap conveniently made him eligible for the Hall of Fame. When he played his first game with the Rangers in October 1988, he became the second player to return to the NHL after his induction, following Gordie Howe and preceding Mario Lemieux.

He suffered from poor health in later years and was 70 years old when he died in April 2022.

(Fun Fact: The Minnesota North Stars drafted Lafleur in the 1991 expansion draft that they participated in along with the new San Jose Sharks, then traded his rights back to Quebec for the rights to Alan Haworth, a former NHLer who had been playing in Switzerland. Lafleur stayed retired and Haworth remained in Switzerland.)

Also born on this date:

1941 – Ray Cullen was born in Ottawa. He was the younger brother of Brian and Barry Cullen, who preceded him to Junior A hockey and a Memorial Cup championship with the St. Catharines Teepees of the Ontario Hockey Association, and then to the NHL. Ray played briefly for the New York Rangers, as did Brian, and for the Detroit Red Wings, as did Barry. He was also an original Minnesota North Star in 1967, scoring the team’s first goal in its first preseason exhibition game, and an original Vancouver Canuck in 1970. Including his nephew John Cullen - Barry’s son - Ray was the only member of his family to play in the NHL but not for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He passed away in March 2021 at age 79.

1988 – Sergei Bobrovsky was born in Novokuznetsk, USSR. A two-time Vezina Trophy winner and more recently a Stanley Cup champion with the Florida Panthers, Bobrovsky entered the NHL as a free agent, signing with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010. He became a star after the Flyers traded him to the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2012, winning the Vezina and earning a First Team All-Star selection in his first season in the Ohio capital. Bobrovsky repeated both feats in the 2016-17 campaign, during which he won 14 consecutive games to tie the NHL record for longest winning streak by a goalie in one season. He left Columbus to sign with the Panthers as a free agent in 2019. In 14 seasons, Bobrovsky has compiled 396 regular season wins, 45 playoff victories, and 47 total shutouts.

1990 – John Tavares was born in Mississauga. Named for his paternal uncle, one of Canada’s greatest lacrosse players, he was such a dominant minor hockey player that he became the first youth to be granted exceptional status that allowed him to be drafted into the OHL prior to his 16^th birthday; in fact, he was only 14 when he was drafted, but he turned 15 three days before his first game with the Oshawa Generals. After four OHL seasons, which included a 72-goal campaign in 2006-07 and a league scoring title in 2008-09, he was chosen 1^st overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders. He played nine seasons on Long Island, the last five as Islanders’ captain, before signing as a free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018. He scored his 1,000^th regular season point last season, captained the Leafs for five years, and is closing in on 500 career goals.