10 CAREER DEFINING

GUY LAFLEUR CARDS

1971-72 O-Pee-Chee #148

If you needed a hint of the kind of pressure Lafleur faced in his rookie season, it was summed up in the cartoon on the back of his RC. “Guy will be a superstar,” the cutline read. Another hint: the fact that he earned a card during his rookie season, a bluemoon rarity in those days when veterans were the preferred pulls. Weighed down by expectations, Lafleur didn’t quite live up to the billing as the next Jean Beliveau in that first season, but he found his groove in year four. This card has been a must-own ever since, with premium graded copies in high demand. Of the more than 1,110 copies graded by PSA, just six have earned the coveted Gem Mint 10.

1975-76 O-Pee-Chee #126

So maybe attention to detail wasn’t a top priority with OPC or the licensors back in those days, but even then it’s hard to imagine how cards listing Lafleur’s position as defense ever saw the light of day. After all, Guy was in the midst of one of his best seasons, with his 125 points earning him the first of three consecutive Art Ross Trophies as the league’s leading scorer. He also set a new career-high with 56 goals and was honored with the Lester Pearson Trophy as the league’s top player as voted on by his fellow athletes. The error, by the way, was never corrected.

1977-78 O-Pee-Chee #216

The unprecedented dominance of Lafleur’s 1976-77 season was reflected in the special cards that honored him the following year. Guy was featured on four League Leaders and three Record Breakers singles this season. It’s arguable which was the most impressive, but we like this card which features his 28-game scoring streak, at that time the longest in NHL history. Lafleur scored 19 goals and 61 points over that stretch to help him secure his second Art Ross and first Hart Trophy as the league MVP.

1974-75 NHL Action Stamps #152

Collectors of a certain age vividly remember the thrill of a trip to the grocery store where booklets of these stamps were the prize for dollars spent. Finishing the set became a national obsession, with kids hanging around storefronts begging childless shoppers for their stamps. This Lafleur – one of the first collectibles to picture him with that abomination of a helmet – was a key pull. It coincided with his 53-goal, 119-point breakthrough season, one that saw him finally live up to the massive expectations placed upon him.

1977-79 Sportscaster Series 51 #5118

Ostensibly a card honoring the NHL’s (at the time) seven trophies, this oversized collectible features a photo of Lafleur celebrating his Conn Smythe win as playoff MVP after the Canadiens wrapped up the 1977 Stanley Cup with a 2-1 OT win over the Bruins. Lafleur assisted on both goals by linemate Jacques Lemaire in the clincher and finished with nine goals and 26 points in 14 games to earn the cool $1,000 bonus check that came with the trophy. While this is the North American version of the card, there were tough variations issued in Sweden and Finland as well.

2018-19 Ultimate Collection ‘97 Ultimate Legends HOF Signatures #LHOFGL

Although this card is out of place chronologically, we’ll slide it in here as it commemorates Lafleur’s induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988. He was an easy first-ballot selection as the all-time leading scorer in Canadiens history with 1,246 points. His 728 assists also are tops in team history, with his 518 goals ranking second only to The Rocket. This card features an image from the ceremony, along with a hard-signed autograph that seems even more special in the wake of his passing.

1989-90 Topps #189

Lafleur’s return to the NHL at age 37 left his devoted fans torn. They were thrilled to see their hero back on the ice … but in Broadway blue? That was a tough pill to swallow. Lafleur put together a solid season, highlighted by a return to the Forum that saw him score twice on Patrick Roy and earn First Star honors despite being on the losing end of a 7-5 score. He finished with 18 goals and 45 points in 67 games in what would be his only season with the Blueshirts. By the time this card was being pulled from packs, Guy had already found a new employer.

2008-09 Upper Deck Ice Pride of Canada Gold #PC8

Lafleur represented his country three times internationally, and he did it with style. He had a goal and an assist as Canada swept the best-of-three final against Czechoslovakia in the 1976 Canada Cup, but he was at his best at the 1981 Canada Cup where he scored two goals and 11 points in just seven games, one behind tournament leader Wayne Gretzky. Although he’d previously shared an international card with Peter Stastny on a 2007-08 ITG insert, this was the first solo card to commemorate his contributions to Team Canada. Although it’s not numbered, it’s a tough single to track down today.

1989-90 Kraft #31

Signing with the rival Nordiques was seen as traitorous by some Canadiens diehards, but it was simply a homecoming for Lafleur. His two-season curtain call brought his career full circle, to the city where he became a junior legend. This card predates his mainstream Nordiques singles by a full year. It was issued as part of a massive cross-brand promotion in Canada and had to be hand-cut from the back of a Kraft Spirals package. As a result, most copies look like this. A diligent search however might uncover a machine-cut salesman copy that was issued as part of a complete set in a hard-backed album.

2010-11 Limited Retired Numbers #13

Though he is synonymous with the number 10, Lafleur wore the number 4 in honor of his hero, Beliveau, while playing junior hockey. He could have kept it with the Canadiens – the ever-gracious Beliveau offered to allow Lafleur to wear his number but the youngster wisely chose to carve his own path. Though he left the team on acrimonious terms in 1984, choosing to retire when GM Serge Savard refused to trade him, Lafleur returned to see his number raised to the rafters of the Forum in 1985. This card, limited to 49 and bearing his autograph, is a fitting tribute to his legend.