#16 - Guy Lafleur

Guy Lafleur (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #16)

Adjusted Stats

1971-1972   Mtl          77 GP   31 goals   37 assists   68 points   0.88 PPG
1972-1973   Mtl*        73 GP   28 goals   27 assists   54 points   0.74 PPG
1973-1974   Mtl          77 GP   21 goals   35 assists   57 points   0.74 PPG
1974-1975   Mtl          72 GP   49 goals   61 assists   110 points 1.53 PPG
1975-1976   Mtl*        82 GP   52 goals   64 assists   116 points 1.41 PPG
1976-1977   Mtl*        82 GP   53 goals   76 assists   129 points 1.57 PPG
1977-1978   Mtl*        80 GP   57 goals   69 assists   126 points 1.58 PPG
1978-1979   Mtl*        82 GP   47 goals   69 assists   116 points 1.41 PPG
1979-1980   Mtl          76 GP   45 goals   67 assists   112 points 1.51 PPG
1980-1981   Mtl          52 GP   22 goals   35 assists   57 points   1.10 PPG
1981-1982   Mtl          68 GP   21 goals   45 assists   66 points   0.97 PPG
1982-1983   Mtl          70 GP   22 goals   40 assists   62 points   0.89 PPG
1983-1984   Mtl          82 GP   24 goals   32 assists   56 points   0.68 PPG
1984-1985   Mtl          19 GP   2 goals     2 assists     4 points     0.21 PPG
1988-1989   NYR       69 GP   15 goals   23 assists   38 points   0.55 PPG
1989-1990   Que         40 GP   10 goals   19 assists   29 points   0.73 PPG
1990-1991   Que         60 GP   11 goals   15 assists   26 points   0.43 PPG

Adjusted Playoff Stats

1971-1972   Mtl          6 GP      1 goal      4 assists    5 points      0.78 PPG
1972-1973   Mtl*        17 GP    3 goals     4 assists    7 points      0.42 PPG
1973-1974   Mtl          6 GP      0 goals     1 assist     1 point        0.16 PPG
1974-1975   Mtl          11 GP    11 goals   6 assists   17 points    1.58 PPG
1975-1976   Mtl*        13 GP    7 goals     10 assists 17 points    1.27 PPG
1976-1977   Mtl*        14 GP    8 goals     15 assists 23 points    1.63 PPG
1977-1978   Mtl*        15 GP    10 goals   11 assists 20 points    1.36 PPG
1978-1979   Mtl*        16 GP    9 goals     12 assists 21 points    1.31 PPG
1979-1980   Mtl          3 GP      3 goals     1 assist    3 points       1.14 PPG
1980-1981   Mtl          3 GP      0 goals     1 assist    1 point        0.24 PPG
1981-1982   Mtl          5 GP      2 goals     1 assist    2 points      0.47 PPG
1982-1983   Mtl          3 GP      0 goals     2 assists   2 points     0.52 PPG
1983-1984   Mtl          12 GP    0 goals     3 assists   3 points     0.22 PPG
1988-1989   NYR       4 GP      1 goal      0 assists    1 point      0.21 PPG

Career - 1161 GP, 510 goals, 716 assists, 1226 points, 1.06 PPG
Career-Highs - 57 goals (77-78); 76 assists (76-77); 129 points (76-77); 1.58 PPG (77-78)
Avg. (17 seasons) - 68 GP, 30 goals, 42 assists, 72 points, 1.06 PPG
Peak Avg. (74-82) - 74 GP, 43 goals, 61 assists, 104 points, 1.40 PPG, 4 Cups

Playoff Career - 128 GP, 55 goals, 71 assists, 123 points, 0.96 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 11 goals (74-75); 15 assists (76-77); 23 points (76-77); 1.63 PPG (76-77)

Accolades - 2 MVP awards, 3 Art Ross, 1 Conn Smythe
All-Star Teams - 6-time 1st-team
5-time Stanley Cup Champion

I suppose in determing where certain players rank on the list of the greatest players of all time comes down to a matter of personal taste. What do you value? Longevity? Consistency of production? Or do you, like me, prefer to see evidence of a player who, for a period of at least five years, dominated the league...someone who's star shone brightly, even if it faded off to soon.

If you're in the latter camp, then Guy Lafleur is one of the all-time greats, no question. He ranks ahead of more consistent plodders like Messier, Francis and Gartner, even though his career totals and averages, while respectable, don't seem to put him in that class. No one, not even the Bruins triumverate of Orr, Esposito and Bucyk, has a greater disparity between their peak years and every other season in their career.

Just look at the gap between Lafleur's magical run from 1974-1980 and the seasons that preceded and followed that span:

Six Peak Years - 79 GP, 51 goals, 68 assists, 118 points, 1.50 PPG, 4 Cups
Every Other Year - 62 GP, 19 goals, 28 assists, 47 points, 0.75 PPG, 1 Cup

It's essentially two different players. So what explains it? The common wisdom is that Lafleur's lackluster early years were a product of his not fully reaching his potential: he had the skillset to make him the first overall draft pick of the 1971 entry draft, but didn't have the work ethic to develop those skills into those of an elite NHL player. And as for the dropoff in the later years? In a word: booze. Lafleur was well known for living the high life during the late 1970s, and it evidently caught up to him, causing a noticeable decline while he was still relatively young.

Lafleur's decline effectively ended the Canadiens' dynasty. With them relying on a now unproductive superstar, there was no way the Canadiens could realistically compete with the up-and-coming Islanders and Oilers. Lafleur battled his way through injuries in the 1984-1985 season before announcing a lackluster retirement, but he was able to come out of retirement for three more years in the late 1980s. The image of Lafleur in a Rangers (and then Nordiques) uniform may have tarnished some's memory of the man, but at least it allowed Lafleur a proper sendoff.

So again, it comes back to what we value: sustained consistency or brief magic. Among the list of right-wingers, I might be inclined to give the slight edge to Jagr, since he put up Lafleur-like numbers for a longer period of time, but there's also no denying that Lafleur was integral to four championship teams, while Jagr only has two to his name (and they were more due to Mario Lemieux's excellence). And I would certainly take Lafleur's six-year run as the best player in the league over someone like Messier, who was a top-ten player for a good chunk of time, but never once would be mistaken for top five. It wasn't for a very long time, but when he was at his best, there were few better than Guy Lafleur.