September 20, 2026 would have been the 75th birthday of Guy Damien Lafleur, the right wing of the Montreal Canadiens. He was born in Thurso, Quebec, in 1951 and died on 22 April 2022, aged 70.

The Canadiens took him first overall in the 1971 NHL draft. His first ring came in 1973. He then belonged to the dynasty that won the Stanley Cup in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979 — five Cups in all with Montreal.

From 1974–75 through 1979–80 he was the first player in the league with at least 50 goals and 100 points in six straight seasons. It is not only the 50-goal mark; the combination of goals and points was then unprecedented.

He won the Art Ross Trophy three times, the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Conn Smythe Trophy. After retiring in 1984 he returned to play for the New York Rangers and the Quebec Nordiques. The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted him in 1988; the NHL listed him among its 100 greatest players.

The Canadiens retired his number 10. A state funeral in Quebec marked his place in Canadian public memory, beyond the statistics.

Today’s date is a birth anniversary, not a death anniversary. This article invents neither quotes nor unconfirmed records.

Image: Jeangagnon, statue of Guy Lafleur near Bell Centre / Gare Lucien-L'Allier, Montreal, 12 May 2012, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. A statue, not a game photograph. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Guy Lafleur — The Canadian Encyclopedia.