Guy Lafleur

After being turned down by several teams, Lafleur went to training camp in 1988 with the New York Rangers. He played well enough to earn a spot on the team. Though Lafleur was not the same player he was at the height of his career, he made contributions. He scored eighteen goals and twenty-seven assists in sixty-seven games, and gave the team stability in the face of front office turmoil.

In 1989, Lafleur signed with the Quebec Nordiques when the Rangers did not match their offer. Thus he was traded to Quebec for $100,000 and a draft choice. Lafleur played for two more seasons before finally retiring in 1991.

After spending a year working in the front office of the Quebec Nordiques as director of corporate affairs, Lafleur went to Titrex as a vice president of public relations in 1993. But hockey still had its lure for him. He played in a number of old timers games, including the Old timer's Hockey Challenge Tour, which benefited the Ontario Special Olympics. He also worked for the Montreal Canadiens as a Special Ambassador, making special appearances for the team. In recognition of his impact on hockey, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League named their most valuable player in the playoffs trophy after him. Off the ice, in 1999, Lafleur earned his helicopter pilot license and considered starting a related transport business.

Over the course of his career, Lafleur played in 1028 regular season games, with 509 goals and 793 assists. In 128 playoff games, he had fifty-eight goals and seventy-six assists. Known as "the Flower" (the literal meaning of his last name), his legacy was his undying love for the game and his scoring expertise. As sportswriter Bill Libby was quoted as saying on LegendsofHockey.net, "He is an artist on skates, creating scoring plays the way a painter puts a vivid scene on a canvas with a brush. … He is a spectacular athlete in a spectacular sport and it is wonderful watching him work."