Tonight will be a special night for Guy Lapointe, the former Defenceman of the Montreal Canadians and current Scout for the Minnesota Wild. At the Bell Center in Montreal, where the Canadians are hosting the Wild, Lapointe’s #5 will be officially hung to the rafters and retired.
The number 5 has already been retired, when in 2006, Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion saw that number retired in his honor, and this is not out of the ordinary in Montreal as the numbers 12 and 16 have also been retired twice; the 12 for both Dickie Moore and Yvon Cournoyer and the 16 for Elmer Lach and Henri Richard.
Lapointe debuted for the Montreal Canadians in 1968 and in a couple of years he would become a stalwart on the Habs blueline. Lapointe was a part of the Canadians’ “Big Three”, which also included Serge Savard and Larry Robinson, easily making this triumvirate the best group of Defencemen in the 1970’s. This was a powerful and well-rounded team and won that would win the Stanley Cup six times.
Lapointe’s defensive acumen was complimented by his offensive skill. He would have 572 Points as a Canadian and would finish in the top five in Norris Trophy voting six times and earn four spots in post season NHL All Star teams. He would enter the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993.
We would like to congratulate both the Montreal Canadians for adding to their stellar history and Guy Lapointe for adding the final punctuation mark on his career.
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