tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4783877269294667701.post656261345172735962..comments2023-11-17T19:37:08.893-08:00Comments on Relentless Ineptitude: Guy Lafleur drove his career into the guardrailwhistlerfanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09842349873700367143noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4783877269294667701.post-57977320013081407652012-05-31T21:55:00.806-07:002012-05-31T21:55:00.806-07:00Well, yes and no. Please remember that 27 goals d...Well, yes and no. Please remember that 27 goals doesn't equal 30-40 goals. And yeah, if we factor in a full season, his totals would have been higher, but you could say that about many players and their stats. Injuries happen for a reason, and I contend that Guy's partying and refusal to do any conditioning other than the skating he'd always done, his refusal to stop smoking, contributed to his nosedive in productivity and increased fragility.<br /><br />Also, let's remember that 30-40 goals was a much easier target to reach in the eighties as opposed to now. I look at his last seasons' totals now and they're still very impressive based on today's game, but when you look at the leading scorers it brings it into perspective.<br /><br />I lived through the Guy Lafleur decline, and it's not an uninformed opinion that his effectiveness as a player diminished greatly, and that he was still acting as if he was the superstar of the team who was beyond criticism. <br /><br />Look, I love Guy Lafleur, loved how he played during the Cup years of '76 to '79, he was my boyhood hero. We don't need to vilify Jacques Lemaire as a bad guy to explain why our hero fell on hard times, hard living and advancing years did that.whistlerfanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09842349873700367143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4783877269294667701.post-64106137134010534692012-05-31T21:44:51.111-07:002012-05-31T21:44:51.111-07:00The stats are there for you to look at too. He we...The stats are there for you to look at too. He went from consistently scoring 50 goals a season to being a thirty goal scorer, which in the eighties wasn't anything to brag about. It's okay to love Guy Lafleur, I did when I was growing up too, but he lost his physical gifts and wasn't able or willing to make up for it through discipline and hard work. He wasn't ready to change what he always did, and that included his legendary partying. To blame Jacques Lemaire for forcing him out is ridiculous. They were teammates, linemates for years. If Guy had been able to produce anything, Mr. Lemaire would have been only too happy to give him all the ice he wanted. Guy needs to look in the mirror and accept responsibility for this sad ending to his career. The publicity stunt comeback only added to this sadness, because it showed that had he wanted to, his already great career could have been much longer.whistlerfanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09842349873700367143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4783877269294667701.post-72817678829527868532012-05-31T15:32:40.599-07:002012-05-31T15:32:40.599-07:00Yeah this is really badly presented. Guy clearly h...Yeah this is really badly presented. Guy clearly had injury problems in his 51-game season as he was still on a 42G/110P pace. Then his 66/68 game seasons are 32/32-goal paces, and he scored 30 goals his last full year. By your own argument ("potting 30-40 goals a season") he was still quite capable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4783877269294667701.post-30160514659709182622012-05-31T14:58:59.144-07:002012-05-31T14:58:59.144-07:00You're wrong pal. A guy just doesn't lose...You're wrong pal. A guy just doesn't lose it over one summer. Look at your own stats you provide. Guy was drinkin, smokin and probably screwin' his whole career and always managed to put up decent points including the team leader the year before he retired. Name another player who went from 70 points one season to a 20 point pace the next. No coincidence this happened in Lemaire's first full season behind the bench. A little proof in your B.S."article" would also be nice.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com