Guy Lafleur will soon be forgotten by Quebecers, a year after his death. For his former teammate with the Montreal Canadiens Yvon Lambert, the “blond Demon” deserved more than anyone to have a highway named in his honor.
Thursday’s unveiling by Prime Minister François Legault delighted many, now that Highway 50 has officially been renamed the “Guy-Lafleur Highway”. This section of road linking the Outaouais to the Laurentians was very important for the hockey player, since it passes through his native town of Thurso.
Read also: Autoroute 50 becomes Autoroute Guy-Lafleur
“This highway, Guy took it very often. He often did Montreal-Quebec, but he often did Montreal-Thurso, ”said Mr. Lambert in an interview with LCN on Thursday.
“Highway 50 is not for 50 km/h because Lafleur would not have been able to pass that at 50 km/h, on the contrary,” he added, laughing.
The one who played for nearly a decade with the former glory of the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge is very happy for the family of the deceased and Lafleur himself. His name will endure over time and should even stimulate some discussion among road users using Highway 50.
“It’s quite an honour. It’s well deserved for Guy Lafleur, the family. It’s still hard to understand that Guy already left a year ago. But it is still in our hearts and in our thoughts, and it is another reflection of it today, ”assured Mr. Lambert.
“Guy is still in our memories,” he continued. In the lounge of the Old Canadians, we talked about it in the last game. We put his picture everywhere in the lounge of the Elders, inside the Bell Center, in the restaurants of the Bell Center. We can’t forget it as easily as that.”
Guy Lafleur died on April 22, 2022 from lung cancer. He is the all-time leading scorer with the Canadiens and has won the Stanley Cup five times.