(Quebec) Guy Lafleur was a master at lifting crowds throughout his brilliant career. Wednesday in Quebec, it was the crowd who raised it when, over the course of an emotional speech, tears took over.
” It is not easy. It’s not… ”, stopped the 70-year-old man, who has been fighting a recurrence of his lung cancer for a year.
Guy Lafleur was in Quebec, “the city where it all began” for him, to unveil a new statue erected in his honor. When Lafleur stopped speaking, the small crowd gathered near the Videotron Center rushed to his aid.
PHOTO PATRICE LAROCHE, THE SUN
“We love you, Guy,” said one of the spectators. “Take your time, Guy,” added another.
The man paused, regained his strength, then continued his speech.
“A career goes so quickly. I remember that at the time, I was having lunch at Jean Béliveau’s and he said to me: ‟You will see, it goes quickly” ”, remembered Lafleur, arrived in Quebec at 14 years old and finally lead a brilliant junior career with the Remparts.
“I was like, ‘I’m 19, it won’t go by that fast.’ But I must confess that I did not see her pass. “
“I live day to day, but I often stop to appreciate. When you’re young, you take everything for granted, you don’t appreciate it. This is normal, it is due to us, ”continued the Blond Demon.
“I think that getting old today is a privilege that we have. We must savor every moment of it. That’s what I do. “
“He has the best possible care”
Guy Lafleur is not at his first honors. The Place du Centenaire at the Bell Center has had a statue in his image since 2008. His hometown of Thurso unveiled another a few years later.
That of Quebec is the most recent. This is not the least, however, since Lafleur, seriously ill, chose to be on site for the unveiling.
“The Remparts brings him back to all his memories, to his beginnings. That’s why there were so many emotions earlier, ”noted his son Mark.
“It was very important for him to be here. It’s a great recognition of the city where it all began, ”added his son Martin.
How is his father? Guy Lafleur takes things “one day at a time”. “It’s a disease that affects all aspects of his life,” notes Martin. He has the best possible care with the CHUM. He takes it a day at a time to try to get through it. “
Lafleur’s feat of arms is of course his five Stanley Cups won with the Montreal Canadiens. But it was in the capital that Lafleur first became a star.
“If Guy Lafleur is not with the Remparts in 1969, maybe the successes of the Remparts would never have existed, that there would not have been a Memorial Cup in 1971. Would the Nordiques be arrived? Probably not either ”, analyzes Marc Durand, author of the brand new book. Guy Lafleur, the birth of an idol.
Immortal
The statue of Quebec has a completely different look from the more classic one in front of the Bell Center. We see the blond Demon who literally smashes a net. It is called Too strong for the league.
Wednesday was also unveiled a statue of former Nordiques Réal “Buddy” Cloutier designed by artist Jean-Robert Drouillard.
-
PHOTO PATRICE LAROCHE, THE SUN
The work entitled Too strong for the league represents the blond Demon who smashes a net of his shots.
-
PHOTO PATRICE LAROCHE, THE SUN
Réal Cloutier poses proudly in front of the work of Jean ‑ Robert Drouillard.
1/ 2
The commemorative alley located on Place Jean-Béliveau, next to the Videotron Center, now has statues of Jean Béliveau, the Stastny brothers, Joe Malone, Réal Cloutier and Guy Lafleur.
“The goal was to seek out contemporary artists to have proposals that speak of hockey in a different way than the traditional bronze”, explains the artist behind the statue of Lafleur, Guillaume Tardif.
Régis Labeaume was on site for the event. The statue was commissioned by the National Capital Commission and the City of Quebec.
Like Lafleur, Labeaume also arrives at the time of the assessments. The fiery mayor will end his political career on November 7, municipal polling day.
“Even though his best professional years were spent in Montreal, we forgive him. We were pleased to end his career in Quebec, said Régis Labeaume. I was there the evening of his return to Quebec, I have never seen so much emotion in an amphitheater. “
“Guy, you made us so trippy, made us so happy, you created so much happiness in our lives and for that, we thank you. “
Guy Lafleur also had thanks for Quebec City and for his supporters. “Thank you for making me immortal, in quotes. “
Another honor awaits Guy Lafleur. Thursday night, before the game between the Remparts and the Cataractes, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League will forever withdraw its number 4. Only one other player has received this distinction in the history of the league. This is Sidney Crosby.