The day before yesterday, the funeral of the Blond Demon was also that of the Canadian hockey club, which will never once more have a player of this caliber because this organization has chosen the path of denial and divorce from Quebec.
If the Forum riots of 1955 for Maurice Richard inaugurated the parenthesis of the Canadian’s identity, where this team embodied the aspirations of a people, we can say that Tuesday’s ceremony for Guy Lafleur came to close it.
These farewells to Guy signaled the end of the so-called “glorious” period of this team whose star goalkeeper does not speak a treacherous word of French.
The Canadian we were proud of has ceased to exist.
Tribute
Captain Shea Weber, notoriously absent from the tribute to number 10 on Sunday, April 24, had the decency to go meet the Lafleur family at the Ardent Chapel. Carey Price too. Of course, it was done in English.
I remain moved by this magnificent photo (published in Le Journal on Monday) where we see a father and his son meditating in front of the flowery coffin. The child sends a greeting to the widow, Lise Lafleur, who returns it.
I find that too little has been said regarding Michel Bergeron’s role in the professional resurrection of Guy Lafleur, who made the Blond Demon the player of our two big cities, Montreal and Quebec, and the only Nordiques player adored by supporters of the Canadian.
Sad
In the Ardent Chapel, I exchanged words, sad, with Pierre Mondou, another from the Belle Époque. To the bereaved family, I launched: “You too are responsible for the success of Guy Lafleur! »
Another with a heavy heart is Ménick, the famous hairdresser without whom I would not have had the opportunity to know Guy Lafleur personally.
Finally, we learned that the army baptized a plane named Lafleur. Only the anglicized city of Valérie Plante is slow to act… not surprisingly!