Great discussion so far and good points on all sides.
Personally, I think it's too early to tell if Patches is another Joe Thornton but I was disgusted with his lack of effort and perimeter game. He hasn't been the same since his injury and admitted himself to changing his game. What's infuriating is that he won't battle hard against Chara and the Bruins in general, including regular season games. I thought he would find revenge in hurting them on the scoresheet but he downplayed the Chara incident from day one, almost as if he never wanted to bring attention to himself. Maybe that's just his personality in general. His comments about the pressure of wearing an A or C are very telling. Let's give the guy a chance to prove himself in the future.
As for Lafleur, I would like to point out a few things to the people who are outraged over all the criticism:
Being in my early 40's, I was too young to remember his peak years and the multiple cups and scoring championships. My memories of him are those of a very divisive person who quit on my beloved Habs and spent the last few decades rubbing it in, one way or another. There was the painful return at the Forum with the crowd cheering him and then the final betrayal when he joined the Nords. Those are my memories and they might offend you if you are older and thought he was a god, or if you are younger and just remember Lafleur as one of the greats but never saw him play.
During that dark period of his retirement and eventual return with the Rangers, the Habs were bleeding fans who went on to cheer for the Nords, Bruins, Flyers and whatever other team they liked. That legacy endures to this day as that generation had kids who grew up cheering for those same teams. Let's not be surprised that there are so many haters out there on various forums and that they are from our own province. Lafleur is a big reason for that. Believe me, I've heard it countless times from older uncles who still, to this day, blame the Habs for "what they did" to Lafleur.
Some of us remember that he could have swallowed his pride and waited for a coaching change. He could have been part of the 86 run and Habs history would have been very different.
Having said that, I understand his comments and share his frustration but Lafleur and posters who have a "cup or bust" attitude need to keep this in mind:
- There are 30 teams with a salary cap and insane parity. Just look at Avs who went from last to a top team in one year. There were fewer teams in Lafleur's era.
- Lafleur never played more than 17 games to win the cup. Series and season were shorter. Habs just played 17 games on a losing run and the Kings played 21 games already.
- Hockey is faster and more physical than it used to be. It's extremely hard to score goals. Goalie equipment is huge. Video analysis and other technology improvements make it a game of inches.
- 30 teams sharing a diminished talent pool in the Q. There hasn't been another Lafleur since Mario Lemieux and that was a long time ago!
- Fantastic teams like the Hawks have a hard time winning consecutive cups. They could have been a dynasty in the 70's.
Instead of throwing bombs at the Habs every few years, Lafleur should try to be a positive influence on the organization and inspire young kids to pick up hockey for the love of the game.
In other words, I wish he would age well...
Why would anyone pay any attention to Lafleur's "expert analysis".
