Montreal Canadiens superstar forward Guy Lafleur initially retired in 1985, but he later returned to action for three more seasons. This exclusive 1991 story from THN's Archive spotlighted his final, emotional game at the famous Montreal Forum.

In 2022, hockey lost a true giant of the game when longtime Montreal Canadiens superstar Guy Lafleur died from lung cancer at age 70. And in this cover story from THN’s April 12, 1991 edition (Vol. 44 Issue 30), we chronicled Lafleur’s final game as an NHLer playing in Montreal.

(And don’t forget: for complete access to this issue, in addition to THN’s exclusive 76-year Archive, you can subscribe to the magazine.)

It was initially believed that Lafleur would retire as a lifelong Canadien when he chose to hang up his skates in 1984-85 at age 33, but like many veteran players, he felt he had more to give and returned to the NHL in 1988, first as a member of the New York Rangers for one season, and then, as a star for the Quebec Nordiques for what would turn out to be his final two years. Lafleur’s offensive totals took a dive in those three-post-Canadiens seasons, as he netted only 42 goals in that span, including just 12 goals in his final season. But it wasn't all bad, considering he'd been away from the league for three full years.

That said, Lafleur’s reduced production on offense didn’t diminish the affection Habs fans and Quebec hockey fans in general had for him. He was 39 years old in that final season, and as Stevenson noted, the emotion surrounding Lafleur was palpable when he played his final game at the famous Montreal Forum.

“I was holding back,” Lafleur said of his reaction to the extended ovation he received in the Forum. “I didn’t expect the emotion, the reception from the fans. I expected some, but it was like a volcano. You never knew when it would erupt.”

Although Lafleur’s relationship with the Canadiens was not ideal when he first retired, he took the high road in 1991 and preferred to focus on the days ahead of him.

“Let’s turn the page and look to the future rather than the past,” Lafleur told Canadiens team president Ronald Corey after the game. “Let’s be positive rather than negative. He wished me the best of luck. It was very nice.”

“I was nicely surprised by Lafleur’s gesture,” Corey told La Presse. “At the same time, I was very relieved. This puts to an end an old story.”

It was tempting to Lafleur to continue playing, but he was honest with himself about what he could and couldn’t do as an NHLer in his late thirties. He was a first-ballot Hockey Hall of Famer, but Father Time catches up to even the best of them eventually, and Lafleur knew he was due to retire, this time, for good.

“I don’t think I can help the team by playing another year,” Lafleur said before his final game in Montreal. “(That) game will be my last hockey game as a hockey player. No old-timers games. I’ll still skate, but that’s it. This is the end of it. “

LAFLEUR’S SWAN SONG AN EMOTIONAL AFFAIR

Vol. 44, No. 30, April 12, 1991

By Chris Stevenson

For six minutes, the man who was once hockey’s biggest and brightest star looked very, very small.

Guy Lafleur stood just short of center ice at the Montreal Forum, the building in which he became the dominant player of a generation, as wave after wave of deafening emotion poured from the stands.

Six minutes of memories, six minutes of love, six minutes of saying, “Thank you.”

When public address announcer Claude Mouton tried to intrude, the crowd shouted him into silence.

Three times.

Lafleur moved his stick back and forth on the ice. He glided back and forth. He hunched over, bent at the waist, looking more like a man trying to recover from a punch in the stomach than a hug.

“I was holding back,” he said of his battle to control the emotions that sprinted inside him. I didn’t expect the emotion, the reception from the fans. I expected some, but it was like a volcano. You never knew when it would erupt.”

This was Montreal fans’ chance to say goodbye, a night for pure emotion.

A big show was planned for the next night in Quebec City where his adopted team would honor him, but this was the one that counted.

This was the city and the building where he became the best player of his time, where he became a symbol for the people of the province of Quebec.

Lafleur’s first goodbye in February, 1985 had been tainted by the feelings of rancor and bitterness created by his early retirement from the Habs and ensuing messy divorce.

The bitterness over Lafleur’s first retirement and subsequent rejection of his front office job and office “clerk’s salary” with the Habs still lingers in the Lafleur family.

The day before the Forum farewell, his aunt called a Montreal phone-in show from Thurso, Que., to once again lay the blame for Lafleur’s premature departure from the game at the feet of Habs’ management.

She said they forced her nephew to retire by taking away his ice time.

Lafleur’s wife, Lise, and the rest of the family was splashed across the front page of le Journal de Montreal the morning of his last night at the Forum.

“Serge Savard nearly destroyed our life,” trumpeted the headline.

Habs’ management remained coldly distant from the festivities. Honoring Lafleur was left mostly to the club’s old-timers association which presented him with a key to the old-timers room at the Forum and a fishing outfit.

The club’s contribution was a $10,000 cheque for one of Lafleur’s charities, presented by vice-president Jean Beliveau.

Club president Ronald Corey remained in his seat behind the Habs’ bench during the ceremonies. He said later he didn’t want to be accused of being a hypocrite by going out on the ice.

Jacques Lemaire, the coach when Lafleur was forced out, was high above in the Habs’ private box.

Savard, the general manager, was nowhere to be seen.

But Lafleur, the man with the innate gift of timing, ended the cold war with a warm gesture.

As the ceremonies closed, he skated to the Habs’ bench and walked up to Corey, extending his hand.

The pair shook hands and Corey clasped Lafleur by the back of the neck.

“Let’s turn the page and look to the future rather than the past,” Lafleur said he told Corey after the game. “Let’s be positive rather than negative. He wished me the best of luck. It was very nice.”

“I was nicely surprised by Lafleur’s gesture,” Corey told La Presse. “At the same time, I was very relieved. This puts to an end an old story.”

Lafleur said he did it for the fans.

He said the same of his goal, scored at 8:59 of the second period, the 560th of his career.

“I’m glad I scored it for the fans, not for me,” he said.

Lafleur’s farewell weekend transcended the game. It became a people’s collective embrace of one of their most loved idols.

“Notre week-end des adieux de notre Guy national,” (Our weekend of goodbyes for our national Guy, as one columnist put it.)

Phone-in shows were jammed with choked-up callers. One French-language radio station brought together 30 guests, ranging from Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to Jean-Paul Meloche to le Demon Blond’s peewee coach.

The French-language newspapers churned out page after page of stories about Lafleur’s first retirement from the Habs, his bitter relationship with Habs’ management, interviews with his wife and other family members, interviews with former teammates.

Le Journal de Montreal devoted 16 pages to Lafleur the morning of his final game at the Forum.

La Presse, which received about 3.500 good-bye letters from Lafleur fans for a special feature, ran 15 pages the morning after Lafleur’s final game in Montreal.

That Lafleur, who scored 50 goals six straight times with the Habs, hadn’t scored 50 in the three years of his come back combined, mattered not at all.

It was the myth that was being honored.

Yes, Lafleur said, it truly is over.

His one regret is he didn’t push harder for a trade back in ‘84 when he retired the first time.

“I should have put more pressure on Savard to get rid of me and play for another team,” he said. “I wouldn’t have missed 4½ years. With what I know today, I should have done that.”

There are no such reservations now. A front-office job awaits in Quebec with the Nordiques. He’ll work on plans for a new Colisee and other special projects.

“The timing is right now,” he told about 50 members of the media crowded into a downtown Montreal hotel suite the day before the Forum farewell.

“I don’t think I can help the team by playing another year. Sunday’s game will be my last hockey game as a hockey player. No old-timers games. I’ll still skate, but that’s it. This is the end of it. “

The Hockey News Archive is a vault of 2,640 issues and more than 156,000 articles exclusively for subscribers, chronicling the complete history of The Hockey News from 1947 until today. Visit the archives at THN.com/archive and subscribe today at subscribe.thehockeynews.com