Canadiens icon Guy Lafleur, one of hockey's flashiest players, dead at 70

Montreal Canadiens icon Guy Lafleur, who captured five Stanley Cup titles and was a hockey hero in Quebec long before his NHL playing days, has died. He was 70.

The cause of death was not immediately known. However, Lafleur suffered through health issues in the latter stages of his life. In September 2019, he underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery, which was followed by lung surgery two months later.

Then, in October of 2020, he endured a recurrence of lung cancer.

For decades, Lafleur — nicknamed "The Flower" — scored seemingly with ease at all levels of hockey and grew into the role of one of the game's flashiest superstars. He often mesmerized fans with his signature long blond hair flowing behind him as he rushed up the ice before unleashing one of his patented booming slapshots.

By his 10th birthday, there were already signs that Lafleur was a generational talent, skating circles around kids three years his senior at an international peewee hockey tournament in Quebec City.

Lafleur played junior hockey for the Quebec Jr. Aces and Quebec Remparts. He amassed a staggering 465 points in two seasons and two playoffs with the Remparts, leading the team to the Memorial Cup title in 1971.

That year, Lafleur set the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League regular-season record of 130 goals, which was eclipsed by another French hockey prodigy, Mario Lemieux (133), in the 1983-84 campaign.

Guy Damien Lafleur was born on Sept. 20, 1951, in Thurso, Que., a small city in the western part of the province, and grew up idolizing Canadiens great Jean Béliveau.

So it was fitting he made his debut for the Montreal Canadiens in the 1971-72 season, taking the torch from his hero only months after Béliveau wrapped his career by skating off the ice as a Stanley Cup champion for the 10th time in the spring of 1971.

Lafleur's arrival in Montreal, like his departure years later, was controversial. General manager Sam Pollock made a deal with the California Golden Seals to move up in the NHL draft to select Lafleur, passing on another highly touted French Canadian, Marcel Dionne.

Dionne outscored Lafleur in their rookie seasons, leading some fans to think Pollock had made a mistake in selecting Lafleur. But the critics backed off by 1973 as Lafleur hoisted his first Stanley Cup with the franchise.

All doubt was erased in the 1974-75 season when Lafleur broke out with his first of six consecutive seasons with at least 50 goals and 100 points.

WATCH | Lafleur's most famous goal:

He dominated the latter half of the decade, leading the Habs to four consecutive Stanley Cup titles from 1976 to 1979, and won the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player twice during that period. He also captured the 1977 Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.