Return To NHL
After being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Lafleur returned to the NHL briefly from 1988–89 through 1990–91 with the New York Rangers and the Quebec Nordiques. Lafleur remained one of the few players that did not wear protective helmets due to a grandfather clause.
Against the Edmonton Oilers in a 1988 exhibition game, Lafleur played well enough to earn praise from the Oilers' Mark Messier and convince Rangers manager Phil Esposito to sign Lafleur to a one year contract. During his first game back in the Montreal Forum, he scored twice against Patrick Roy during the Rangers' 7–5 loss to the Canadiens. As in his heydey with the Habs, the Forum crowd chanted "Guy! Guy! Guy!" every time he touched the puck, and he received huge ovations for each goal, and when he was introduced as the game's first star. Although his high-scoring days were well behind him, his stint with the Rangers was moderately successful, and he helped the team to first place in the Patrick Division until being knocked out by a knee injury.
Lafleur then followed dismissed Rangers head coach and close friend Michel Bergeron to the Nordiques for his final seasons. Intending to finish his hockey career in Quebec where he had started, he reportedly turned down a $1 million offer from the Los Angeles Kings. He managed 24 goals in 98 games with the Nordiques over two seasons, the 38-year-old was still among the team's best players while receiving diminished ice time.
Oddly, the Minnesota North Stars selected Lafleur with the 20th and last pick in the 1991 Expansion Draft, this despite the fact that it was already well known that he was retiring for good at the end of the 1990–91 season.
He had already verbally agreed to an office job with the Nordiques and since his retirement papers had yet to be filed with the NHL offices, league tampering bylaws prevented him to accept an off-ice position with a team that didn't own his playing rights. In order to simplify his transition from player to an office job with the same team, a gentlemen's agreement between the two teams was made where his rights were traded back to Quebec for the NHL rights to Alan Haworth.
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Famous quotes containing the words return to and/or return:
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